Pope Francis condemned the Islamic State's ultimatum to Christians in Mosul to leave or submit to Islamic rule, speaking on Sunday (July 20) to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Angelus prayer.
The ultimatum issued on Thursday (July 17) drove out the few hundred Christians who had stayed on when the group's hardline Sunni Muslim fighters overran Mosul a month ago, threatening Christians and the diverse city's other religious communities.
“I learned with great concern the news that came from the Christian communities in Mosul and other parts of the Middle East, where they have lived since the birth of Christianity and where they have made significant contributions to the good of their societies alongside their fellow citizens,” said a solemn Pope Francis.
Then leaving his prepared text, he spoke about how they were persecuted.
“Today our brothers are persecuted. They've been driven away. They must leave their homes without being able to take anything with them. I assure these families and these people my kinship and my constant prayers. I know how much you are suffering and I know you've been stripped of everything,” Francis added.
The Pope also mentioned the Middle East and the Ukraine, calling for a moment of silent prayer in the name of peace.
“I also urge you to persevere in prayer for situations of tension and conflict that persist in different parts of the world especially in the Middle East and Ukraine. Violence will not be overcome with violence. Violence is overcome with peace! Let's pray in silence and ask for peace, everyone in silence,”said the Pope asking the whole crowd to be silent and pray together with him.
The overlapping of Muslim and Christian faiths in modern day Mosul is evident by the fact that the tomb of the Biblical and Koranic prophet Jonah is housed in a mosque in the city.
That mosque is at risk of destruction along with others in Mosul considered heretical by the Sunni, ultra-conservative Islamic State, which rejects other branches of Islam such as Shi'ism and condemns the veneration of tombs.