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Welcome to Tuesday. Given all the possible difficulties of Pope Francis' upcoming trip to Iraq — global pandemic, terrorist threats, Muslim-Christian dialogue — Iraqi Christian leaders still say the fact the pope is coming at all outweighs any potential problems. In NCR's editorial, we say that during this pandemic, all those "essential" workers who have literally risked their lives to do their jobs should get what they really need — a raise.
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** Pandemic, terror threats: Iraq papal trip is complicated, even for Francis ([link removed])
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Traveling during an ongoing global pandemic. Heading to a country where suicide bombings area threat. Preparing for the first meeting between a pope and one of the world's leading Muslim clerics.

Even for a pope who has undertaken some difficult trips abroad, Pope Francis' planned visit to Iraq, March 5-8, has more than a usual share of complexity.

Add to the list: encouraging a small but historic Christian community that is still reeling from three years of devastation wrought by Islamic State militants who destroyed churches and forced hundreds of thousands to flee a brutal fundamentalist regime.

Yet, given all the possible difficulties, Iraqi analysts and Christian leaders told NCR that the mere fact of the pope's coming should outweigh any problems.

As Baghdad-based Marsin Alshamary said when asked if Iraqis would be looking for Francis to broach specific subjects or themes while in the country: "The symbolism of the pope visiting Iraq is quite enough of a gesture."

You can read more of the story here ([link removed]) .

More background:
* Follow all of NCR's coverage of Pope Francis' trip to Iraq here ([link removed]) .

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** Editorial: Essential workers deserve a raise ([link removed])
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During this pandemic, those "essential" workers who have literally risked their lives to do their jobs are often the lowest paid — at or only slightly above the minimum wage. With the federal minimum wage currently stuck at $7.25 an hour ($15,080 annually for 40 hours a week), such a worker barely exceeds the federal poverty level for a single person ($12,880), never mind for a family of two, three or four.

They have been given praise by politicians and celebrities, but what they really need, NCR writes in our editorial, is a raise.

Although 29 states (and some cities) have raised their minimum wage past the federal level, the federal minimum has not been increased since 2009. Inflation further erodes the purchasing power of low-income workers — meaning today's minimum-wage workers' earnings are worth $6,800 less annually than they were in 1968, which was the minimum wage's historical peak.

"There should be no such thing as the 'working poor,' " we write. "While our faith teaches us every human person has dignity, it is especially egregious that those who work hard, especially as essential workers during a pandemic, are not afforded basic necessities."

You can read more of the editorial here ([link removed]) .
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** More headlines
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* At EarthBeat ([link removed]) , read about how after a series of pipeline spills between 2008 and 2009 left the Niger Delta region flowing in oil, farmers won a landmark case against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria.

* At Global Sisters Report ([link removed]) , a Q&A with Sr. Mary Greaney, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1971 and spent the next 37 years there as a missionary and nurse. After retiring to Ireland, her mission is now to a flourishing parish community for the Chinese diaspora in Dublin.

* Ongoing dialogue ([link removed]) between Archbishop Gregory Aymond and Kevin Bourgeois, the leader of the New Orleans chapter of SNAP, has led to a significant broadening and restructuring of Archdiocese of New Orleans' response to abuse survivors.

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** Final thoughts
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Every Tuesday and Thursday, we post a new Francis comic strip ([link removed]) . Throughout the week, we also post stories about Pope Francis' speeches, letters and audiences ([link removed]) . Yesterday, we posted a story on Francis' virtual speech ([link removed]) to Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, in which he told attendees to look for hope amid the pandemic in the very theme of their gathering: "Proclaim the Promise!"

You can sign up to receive a twice-weekly email with the latest Francis news here ([link removed]) .

Until Wednesday,

Stephanie Yeagle
NCR Managing Editor
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Twitter: @ncrSLY ([link removed])

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