VATICAN CITY - Barring any obstacles caused by the global pandemic, Pope Francis is set to begin international travel again in 2021 by visiting Iraq in March, which would make him the first pope to visit this nation.

EDMONTON - The photos tell the story of the Al- Khatyar family.

BAGHDAD – Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad called for a united and strong stance – by Muslims and non-Muslims alike – to stop the spread of the "cancer" of Islamic State and other terrorist groups.

BAGHDAD – Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad urged Iraq's leaders to put an end to the "institutional, economic and security deterioration" in the country.

ROME - The survival of Christianity in the Middle East has reached such a critical point that the chances of dialogue and reconciliation in the region are being threatened, said Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis named new bishops for Chaldean Catholics in Toronto and Sydney and confirmed the election of a Chaldean priest, who is currently ministering in Detroit, to be a new auxiliary bishop in Baghdad.

VIENNA - Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad implored moderate Muslims to reject "terrorism in the name of religion" and step up to challenge the actions of Islamic State militants against minority communities in Iraq.

AMMAN, Jordan - The patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad called the current situation in his country "perhaps the darkest and most difficult period in (the Church's) recent history."

AMMAN, Jordan - A steady stream of Iraqi refugees, smiling and displaying purple index fingers, emerged from a polling station in the Hashemi Shamali district, where the majority of these urban refugees live in the Jordanian capital.

VATICAN CITY - The new head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad, told his fellow Chaldean bishops and Vatican officials, "We want to follow the example of our martyrs who gave their lives for Christ."