The Latest: Pope meets father of drowned Syrian refugee boy
Following a Mass on Sunday in the Iraqi city of Irbil, Francis met with Abdullah Kurdi and spent a long time with him, the Vatican said. Through an interpreter, the pope listened to Kurdiโs story and expressed sympathy for the loss of his family. Francis issued the appeal during a joyful visit to the Christian community of Qaraqosh, on the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako said Francisโ visit to Iraq was โmiraculousโ and had already borne fruits. AdChristian and Muslim leaders in Mosul have welcomed Pope Francis' visit to the Iraqi city devastated by war and are calling on Christians who fled the Islamic State group's onslaught to return.