Iraqi president invites pope to Iraq

(ANSA) - Vatican City, December 28 - Iraqi President Barham Salih has issued a renewed invitation to Pope Francis to visit his country, Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano said Friday.
    Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has been in Iraq since Christmas Eve and was received with solemnity by the head of State in Baghdad's Palace of Peace on Boxing Day, it noted.
    The invitation was echoed on Thursday evening in the Chaldean Cathedral of Erbil, crammed with faithful, where the shout "long live the pope!" resounded on several occasions.