Pope moves ahead with plans to meet Shiite leader in Iraq

Pope moves ahead with plans to meet Shiite leader in Iraq

ROME (AP) “” Pope Francis will meet with Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, Ali al-Sistani, during a trip next month that will also include a pilgrimage to ancient Christian communities that were emptied and devastated in battles with the Islamic State group.

The Vatican on Monday released the itinerary of Francis' March 5-8 visit to Iraq, his first foreign trip since being grounded for 16 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 84-year-old pontiff, who has been vaccinated against COVID-19, apparently intends to go ahead with the trip despite the pandemic and lingering security concerns.

Francis' main reason for making the first-ever papal trip to Iraq is to encourage the country's Christians, who faced decades of discrimination by Iraq's Muslims before being persecuted by the Islamic State group starting in 2014. Francis had intended to visit Iraq that year, as did St. John Paul II in 2000, but both had to call off their trips due to security concerns.

On his first day in Baghdad, Francis will meet with Catholic priests and nuns in the Our Lady of Salvation Church, the site of a 2010 massacre that killed 58 people and was claimed by the al-Qaida in Iraq group, which later splintered into