Pope Francis received on Tuesday, July 23, at the Vatican Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan Archbishop Giorgio Lingua. During the meeting, Archbishop Lingua expressed "concern" over the grave situation of the Christians of Mosul who were "persecuted and expelled" from their homes at the hands of "jihadists".

In an interview with the Vatican mouthpiece L'Osservatore Romano Archbishop Lingua warned against "the risk of Iraq losing its Christians in toto.” He pointed out that the humanitarian situation is very critical in the villages of the Mosul province, "where a large number of Christians who live there received people fleeing Mosul.”

Sources at the Vatican reported that the Pope and his aides closely follow up the tragic situation of the Christians of Iraq.