Four French oaks that have been standing for hundreds of years in a once-royal forest now have a sacred destiny. Felled Tuesday in the Loire region’s Forest of Berce, they have been selected to reconstruct Notre Dame cathedral’s fallen spire. The 93-metre-high spire,...
In his latest in-flight news conference, Pope Francis said Monday he’s not afraid to be called a ‘heretic’ for engaging in dialogue with Muslims; that he felt “imprisoned” during Covid-19 lockdowns; he was “shocked” by the destruction he witnessed in the Iraqi city of...
Pope Francis urged Iraq’s Christians this past Sunday to forgive the injustices against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ec-static crowds in the community’s historic heartland, which was nearly erased by the...
The meeting between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf and the interfaith prayer in Ur of the Chaldeans are laying the foundations for an Iraq based on coexistence, pluralism, peace and a multicultural vision. Analysts and commentators, from Iran...
An elderly Pope Francis bowing and asking God’s forgiveness for the violence unleashed in the square of the four churches in Mosul; the choral participation of Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and Sabeans, all in traditional costume, survivors of a violent uprooting; the...
