In 2016, an Egyptian court sentenced four Coptic Christian teenagers to five years in prison after they appeared in a 32-second video mocking ISIS, which authorities said was an insult to Islam.
International News
Blasphemy Laws Bring Increase In Violence Around the World
“A land of infidels” is how Boko Haram’s leader described the Kano state of north-central Nigeria. Last year, an Islamic recording artist received a death sentence there for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.
Cleanse Your Hearts of Anger, Live the Gospel, Pope Says at Mass in Irbil
Having witnessed or even experienced persecution for their faith, the Christians of Iraq must be careful not to harbor thoughts of revenge, Pope Francis told them.
Analysis: Pope Francis in Iraq Arguably the Most Emblematic Papal Trip of All Time
Every papal trip is, in a sense, an exercise in storytelling. A pope chooses to travel to a given destination in part because he believes it has a story the world needs to hear, and, for a few days, he lends it his spotlight, so the global media pay attention.
Speech of Pope Francis to the Christian Community of Qaraqosh
I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to be among you this morning. I have looked forward to this time together. I thank His Beatitude Patriarch Ignace Youssif Younan for his words of welcome, and Mrs Doha Sabah Abdallah and Father Ammar Yako for their testimonies.
With Iraqi Christians, Pope Francis Extols Women Brutalized by ISIS
Surrounded by the relics of violence, war, and terrorism, Pope Francis Sunday told the Christian community of Iraq that they’re proof in flesh and blood of the victory of life over death.
Pope Francis Warns Christian Exodus from Middle East Does ‘Incalculable Harm’
Mosul, a city in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains that’s both a crossroads of tolerance and a former stronghold of ISIS, did its best Sunday to show Pope Francis its former face, with a pristine red carpet and papal-white chairs that seemed made for the occasion.
Iraqis on Pope Francis’ Visit: ‘We Hope His Presence Will Silence Guns and Bring Peace’
Representatives of different religions who attended the inter religious meeting in Ur shared their impressions of the pontiff’s s presence in their country.
Living the Beatitudes Can Change the World, Pope Says in Iraq
Pope Francis told Iraqi Christians that when they suffer discrimination, persecution, or war, the Eight Beatitudes are addressed to them.
Homily of the Holy Father at Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph
Wisdom in these lands has been cultivated since ancient times. Indeed, the search for wisdom has always attracted men and women. Often, however, those with more means can acquire more knowledge and have greater opportunities, while those who have less are sidelined. Such inequality – which has increased in our time – is unacceptable.