VATICAN CITY—Civil and religious leaders of the Yazidi people have issued an open letter to Pope Francis on the eve of his historic trip to Iraq, asking the leader of the Roman Catholic Church to “advocate for us loudly for our petitions” during the visit as well as seeking a meeting with the group’s spiritual leader.
Seven years have passed since harrowing reports began to trickle out of ISIS-controlled Iraq, detailing genocide by the terrorist group against an ethnic and religious minority people who have claimed thousands of years of history centered on their holy mountain, Iraq’s Mt. Sinjar.
