Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB , Associated Press
March 03, 2021 – 7:40 AM
BAGHDAD — In Iraq’s holiest city, a pontiff will meet a revered ayatollah and make history with a message of coexistence in a place plagued by bitter divisions.
One is the chief pastor of the world-wide Catholic Church, the other a pre-eminent figure in Shiite Islam whose opinion holds powerful sway on the Iraqi street and beyond. Their encounter will resonate across Iraq, even crossing borders into neighboring, mainly Shiite Iran.
