Iraqi Patriarch urges Pope Francis to visit his country

A senior Iraqi prelate has urged the Pope to visit his country and promised that he would be “100 per cent safe”.

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, the Patriarch of Baghdad, said a visit from Pope Francis would have “high pastoral and spiritual symbolism” for the country’s persecuted Christian minorities.

The Patriarch told the charity Aid to the Church in Need that he had personally invited the Pope to visit.

“I don’t know why the Holy See is so concerned. I can give an assurance that nothing would happen to the Pope. His security would be guaranteed 100 per cent,” he said.

Patriarch Sako outlined an itinerary for a one-day visit and suggested he land in Baghdad, meet with members of the Government and celebrate Mass.

In August Pope Francis told journalists aboard the return flight from South Korea that he was prepared to visit persecuted Christians in Iraq, but said it was not the best thing “at the moment”.

Elsewhere the Patriarch called for ground troops to push Islamic State forces back.