Secretary of State in the Vatican and new Iraqi Ambassador meet in Vatican

VATICAN — The Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Holy See, Rahman Farhan al-Ameri, met with the  Secretary of State in the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin in his office at the Vatican Secretariat.

During the meeting, Cardinal Parolin congratulated Ambassador al-Ameri on submitting his credentials and expressed his readiness to work with the ambassador to achieve security and peace in Iraq, noting that, “Terrorism has had tangible negative effects in Iraq, including the destruction of areas under its control, and the decrease in the number of Christians due to emigration in recent years, dropping from 1.5 million to 300,000 Christians.”

Ambassador al-Ameri stressed his keenness to do his best to develop relations between Iraq and the Vatican to achieve his goals in the service of humanity and to promote the culture and values of peace.

“Iraq is a meeting place of religions that agree on respect for human beings, their dignity, and the promotion of the culture and values of peace,” al-Ameri said, stressing the government’s determination to return displaced people and rehabilitate victims of the Islamic State.

On Pope Francis’s upcoming visit to Iraq, al-Ameri stated that, “The Iraqi government and people are looking forward to your visit to Iraq as a part of the historic visit of His Holiness the Pope to Iraq.”