Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches has visited Kurdistan Region and met with Kurdistan Region Government (KRG)’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
According to a statement released by KRG, “Prime Minister (PM) Nechirvan Barzani met with the special representative of Pope and the perfect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on the 5th of May”
At a meeting held in Erbil, the Cardinal delivered Pope’s message to KRG and the people of Kurdistan Region for the support that KRG has offered to the refugees especially the Christians who are displaced and are currently based in Kurdistan Region.
Cardinal Sandri poited out “We have visited the Christian refugee camps in Kurdistan Region and saw the situation. The refugees are living in a peaceful environment and despite its limited resources KRG has taken a good care of them in terms of providing humanitarian needs, and for that we are so grateful to the people of Kurdistan Region”
“During our visit to the Christian refugees, we urged them to stay strong and not to leave their own country”.
“On behalf of Vatican we call on the international community, Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) and the United Nation (UN) agencies to provide more aid for the refugees in Kurdistan Region” The Congregation for the Oriented Churches stated.
In return PM Nechirvan Barzani expressed his recognition for Cardinal Sandri’s visit to Kurdistan and sent the KRG’s regards to Pope Francis. PM also talked about his last visit to Vatican, where he met with the Pope.
Nevertheless, PM said, “We are honored that our Christian brothers and sisters could chose our region as a safe heaven until they go back to their own homes”
“In Kurdistan, we are pleased to have different ethnicities and religious groups live together peacefully which is a very unique example in Middle East”, concluded PM Barzani.
