Filoni on second visit to Iraq as envoy of Pope Francis

CARDINAL FERNANDO Filoni has been sent on a second visit to Iraq by Pope Francis to show solidarity with persecuted Christians and other minorities.

Tens of thousands were forced to flee their homes to escape the violence of the Islamic State (IS) militias as they swept through large areas of Iraq and Syria. Many others were killed or kidnapped as sex slaves. Bishop Shlemon Warduni, an auxiliary in Baghdad, said that Christian refugees are still living in the same condition as last year, in tents and caravans. “The situation for Christians is truly tragic,” he told Vatican Radio. “There are so few of us remaining. The IS fanatics persecute everyone who does not think like them and join them.”

Cardinal Filoni, the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, who visited Iraq in August last year, stopped in Jordan on Tuesday to meet refugees who fled there.