Pope Francis said Sunday that he was grieved to hear of the deadly violence against protesters in Iraq and expressed his closeness to the entire Iraqi people. “I am following the situation in Iraq with concern. I learned with grief that the protests in recent days have received a harsh reaction, which has caused dozens of victims. I pray for the dead and the wounded,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address December 1.
“I am close to their families and to the entire Iraqi people, invoking from God peace and concord,” the pope said. Iraqi security forces shot and killed at least 45 protesters on Nov. 28, according to Reuters. The Prime Minister of Iraq Adel Abdul-Mahdi announced the following day that he would submit his resignation to parliament. At least 400 people have died since anti-government protests began across Iraq in October. The Associated Press reports that Iraqi security forces have used live fire, tear gas and sound bombs against the thousands of Iraqis protesting in the streets of Baghdad.
Iraqi priest Fr. Salar Kajo from Tellesqof in the Nineveh Plains told CNA that people in Iraq are protesting because they have lived for years without human dignity. CNA
