Pope Francis Calls on UN to Take Action in Iraq; Says UN Must End Humanitarian Tragedy There

The Holy See's Press Office released today (August 13, 2014) a letter from Pope Francis to the General Secretary of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, with an urgent appeal to the international community to take action to end the humanitarian tragedy now underway in Northern Iraq, the CCCB (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops) website reports.

In his letter, Pope Francis condemns the violence and encourages "all the competent organs of the United Nations, in particular those responsible for security, peace, humanitarian law and assistance to refugees, to continue their efforts in accordance with the Preamble and relevant Articles of the United Nations Charter."

The day before (August 12, 2014)the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue issued a statement condemning the "dramatic plight of Christians, Yezidis and other religious communities and ethnic minorities in Iraq," and while also insisting "religious leaders must not fail to stress that the support, funding and arming of terrorism is morally reprehensible."

The pope placed before the UN general secretary "the tears, the suffering, and heartfelt cries of despair of Christians and other religious minorities of the beloved land of Iraq," and renewed his "urgent appeal to the international community to take action to end the humanitarian tragedy now underway."