Pope, on Iraq visit, decries violence in the name of God as 'greatest blasphemy'

Pope Francis leaves after a meeting with Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq, March 6, 2021 in this screen grab taken from video. Iraqiya TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS

UR, Iraq (Reuters) - Pope Francis walked down a narrow alleyway in the holy city of Najav to hold a historic meeting with Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric and visited the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham on Saturday to condemn violence in the name of God as "the greatest blasphemy".

The inter-religious events, one in a dusty, built-up city and the other on a desert plain 200 km (125 miles) away, reinforced the main theme of the pope's risky trip to Iraq - that the country has suffered far too much, and the killing has often been sectarian.