Genesis 11:31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
March 7, 2021: Pope Francis has made a historic trip to the land of the ancient Chaldeans and Sumerians, modern day Iraq. The pontiff has traveled to the Shia Muslim holy city of Najaf, the Christian community of Qaraqosh, Abraham’s birthplace of Ur, Erbil, and the ancient city of Nineveh or modern day Mosul. This is the first time a pope has visited Iraq.
In Najaf, the Pope met with Iraq’s Shia Cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. The visit is reported to have lasted about 50 minutes. Focus of the talks were on religious tolerance.
The following quote is from the Grand Ayatollah Sistani. “…affirmed his concern that Christian citizens should live like all Iraqis in peace and security, and with their full constitutional rights.”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pope-francis-meets-iraqs-top-cleric-ali-sistani-historic-meeting
Pope Francis traveled to modern day Nasiriyah or ancient Ur. This is the birthplace of Abraham, the father of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. The Great Ziggurat of Ur was the location of the interfaith service.
“This is true religiosity: to worship God and to love our neighbor. From this place, where faith was born, from the land of our father Abraham, let us affirm that God is merciful and that the greatest blasphemy is to profane his name by hating our brothers and sisters. Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart: They are betrayals of religion.”
“It all started from here. This blessed place brings us back to our origins. We seem to have returned home.” -Pope Francis.
By the way, those of the Hebrew faith were not invited by the Iraqi government. Many spoke out against the decision by the Iraqi government including representatives of the Pope. There was no Jewish representation at the interfaith service.
