Pope plans historic Iraq trip in March

Vatican City: Pope Francis will make a historic visit to Iraq in March, the Vatican said Monday, the first ever by a pontiff and which will include a trip to Mosul. The 83-year-old has long spoken of his desire to visit the Middle Eastern country, where conflict has caused the number of Christians to fall dramatically over the past two decades. Between March 5 and 8 next year, Francis will “visit Baghdad, the plain of Ur... the city of Erbil, as well as Mosul and Qaraqosh in the plain of Nineveh,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. The pope’s visit to the ancient city of Mosul in northern...