Sidra home again, the Pope delivers the Holy Book to the Christians of Qaraqosh

Francis, during the meeting with the Christians of Qaraqosh, returned to the community the 13th century volume belonging to the Syriac Christian Church, saved in Italy by Focsiv in the years of Islamic State violence. The emotion of the president of the Federation, Ivana Borsotto.

Francesca Sabatinelli - Vatican City Sidra has returned to the holy city of Qaraqosh. The Holy Book, which escaped the iconoclastic fury of IS, entrusted to Focsiv, the Federation of Christian Organisms International Voluntary Service, which in 2017 brought it to Italy to allow its restoration, was returned today by the Pope to the Christians of the Nineveh Plain, during the prayer meeting in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Christian martyr city. The Sacred Book of Liturgy of the fourteenth - fifteenth century was then given by Francis to the archbishop of Mosul, Yohanna Butros Mouché. Bringing back home and delivering Sidra to his faithful through the Pope was thrilled, explains Ivana Borsotto, president of Focsiv to Vatican News, present in Iraq for six years, where she is committed to supporting and assisting displaced populations in the camps refugees:

R. - We experienced an emotion, because as Focsiv we also accompanied this refugee book and it was delivered at the end. Pope Francis gave it back to Qaraqosh Cathedral, so for us it was really a great emotion. The Pope's words have a very profound evocative power, especially hearing them after this week in which we met many families here in Qaraqosh too, who told us what it means to flee overnight, leave everything, leave your home and live for three. years in refugee camps. Therefore, I believe that the Pope's words conveyed the profound understanding that the Pope has for this population. His call also to brotherhood and to being brothers in such a disastrous land is not easy, but it is deeply necessary.

Sidra, the Holy Book of Qaraqosh escaped the fury of Isis Pope Francis encouraged all Christians to rebuild, he reassured them about the closeness of the Church. In the meetings that you have had in these days, have you found this desire to start over?

R. - The reconstruction has already started and I believe that the Christian community has managed to transmit a lot of closeness and solidarity. This gave a lot of strength, Christians did not feel alone in this land. However, we also felt so much weariness and so much fatigue, because, as the Pope said this morning, there are relationships that have been deeply broken. There have also been many passages by Francis on forgiveness and I believe that this is the great challenge that all Iraqis have to face: understanding how to heal their wounds. The message of brotherhood is profoundly relevant, perhaps because the only medicine is that of feeling like brothers, of knowing that everything is intimately linked and that one cannot help but worry about what happens to others and, above all, knowing that hope is not something that can be lived alone, but which can only be experienced as a community. We have heard this: it is a community that is able to hope for sure. Fraternity is not a thought or a grammar, it is a practice and, rightly, Pope Francis reminds us of a very concrete practice, which is concerned with the needs of the people we have close to us, which takes care of the needs and therefore recalls concreteness. and social justice, a very strong, very powerful and very useful call in this country.

The Pope closed the speech with a thought addressed to courageous women, asking that they be respected and protected in a country where, instead, they have been violated in all aspects of their lives. How important was it?

R. - It was fundamental: we were present and applause broke out from the women. This means that the message has arrived loud and clear. The women we met are all very strong women, they are the point of reference of their families, they are the point of reference of the communities in which they live. We are convinced, deeply convinced, that women are and will be the engine of the physical, moral, community and cultural reconstruction of this country, so hope is a woman, we would like to say ...

Were the words of Francis and his encouragement also important for you? R. - Absolutely yes, because they confirm the usefulness and meaning of our work. We too are in this wake of brotherhood and we are more convinced than ever of the commitment we have. There is an ever stronger feeling and awareness that the cultural and religious diversity of which this country is rich is a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other, to enrich each other. We are particularly happy, like Focsiv, to continue our work, we will launch, in the coming months, a program that gives continuity to the work done in these six years, so we will continue to support and support the communities of displaced persons, paying particular attention to to let them think about their future. We will therefore offer the opportunity for professional training courses, which allow us to use this suspended time in refugee camps to learn professions and trades. We will also offer opportunities for psychological support services with help groups for women.

VATICAN NEWS ~ ITALY ~ HOLY SEE PRESS (Translated in English 03/07/2021) Per https://www.vaticannews.va/it/papa/news/2021-03/papa-francesco-qaraqosh-cristiani-libro-sacro.html