Along with Muslims, Jews, representatives of various Christian churches and other Iraqi religious minorities in the Iraqi city of Ur, Pope Francis prays for reconciliation, peace and the power to rebuild the devastated nation.
By Linda Bordoni
Pope Francis traveled south from Baghdad to the ancient city of Ur to hold a historic interfaith meeting on Saturday, the second day of his apostolic visit to Iraq.
The arrangement was cruel but strong: a simple tent-like structure with white curtains to protect participants from the sun was arranged near Abraham’s house. In the background, the incredibly well-preserved remains of a 4,000-year-old Sumerian temple, with an adjacent residential complex and palaces known as the Great Ziggurat in Ur.
After the meeting, the Pope gathered in prayer together with Muslims, Jews, representatives of the Christian churches in Iraq and members of Iraqi religious minorities, including Yazidis and Sabeans, who together invoked the Lord for peace, reconciliation and the power to rebuild the conflict. I was devastated.
This is their prayer:
Almighty God, our Creator, you love our human family and any work of your hands:
As children of Abraham, Jews, Christians, and Muslims, along with other believers and all people of goodwill, we thank you for giving us Abraham, a distinguished son of this noble and beloved country, to be our father. common in faith.
Thank you for his example as a man of faith, who listened to you completely, left behind his family, tribe, and homeland, and set out for a land he did not know.
We also thank you for the example of courage, endurance, strength of spirit, generosity and hospitality, which was given to us by our common father in faith.
Thank you especially for his heroic faith, demonstrated by his willingness to even sacrifice his son in obedience to your command. We know that this was an extreme test, yet one that came out the winner, because he had unreserved confidence in you, who are merciful and always offer the opportunity to start again.
Thank you that by blessing our father Abraham, you have made him a blessing to all peoples.
Please, God of our father Abraham and our God, grant us a strong faith, a faith that abounds in good works, a faith that opens our hearts to you and to all our brothers and sisters; and a boundless hope capable of discerning in every situation your fidelity to your promises.
Make each of us a witness to your loving care for all, especially for refugees and displaced persons, widows and orphans, the poor and the infirm.
Open our hearts to mutual forgiveness and in this way make us instruments of reconciliation, builders of a more just and fraternal society.
Welcome to your home of peace and light to all those who have died, especially the victims of violence and war.
Assist the authorities in their efforts to search for and find victims of the abduction and in a special way to protect women and children.
Help us to take care of the land, our common home, which you have given us all, through your kindness and generosity.
Guide our hands in the work of rebuilding this country and give us the strength to help those forced to leave their homes and lands behind, allowing them to return to safety and dignity and engage in a new, serene and prosperous life. Amen.