Iraqi Shiite leader reaffirms coexistence after meeting pope

Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani (AP/Vatican Media)

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric has affirmed that religious authorities have a role in protecting the country’s Christians after an historic meeting with Pope Francis.

The Vatican said Francis thanked Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and the Shiite people for having “raised his voice in defence of the weakest and most persecuted” during some of the most violent times in Iraq’s recent history.