An inter-ministerial committee has been commissioned by the Iraqi government to work on the implementation of suggestions and proposals that emerged during Pope Francis’ recent visit to Iraq. This was reported by the Arab newspaper Al Araby Al Jadeed, citing in generic and anonymous form “high-level sources” of the Iraqi government.
The “recommendations” contained in the dossier at the center of the work of the Government Committee – reports the source cited, also referring to the talks of Pope Francis with Iraqi President Barham Salih and with Premier Mustafa al Kadhimi during the papal visit – aim to suggest solutions problems of security, economic sustainability and post-war reconstruction that weigh in particular on the condition of Christian communities and on other social components, especially in the governorates of Nineveh and Baghdad.
The government source – cited by the UK-based newspaper and reported by the Catholic agency Fides – refers in particular to the problems relating to security and attributed to the persistence of militias organized on a sectarian basis still operating in the Governorate of Nineveh and in the plain that leads the same name, an area of historical roots of the indigenous Christian communities. The dossier being studied by the Government Committee would also include the question of real estate properties illegally stolen in recent years from Christian families forced by conflicts and violence to move to other areas of the country or to emigrate abroad.
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