Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) updated His Holiness Pope Francis personally about the charity’s ongoing reconstruction efforts for the Christians seeking to return to their homes in the Nineveh Plains, Iraq. During a private audience granted to the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN) on 27 August 2017, ACN’s Public Affairs representatives Mark von Riedemann and Marcela Szymanski explained to the Holy Father the scope and dimensions of the reconstruction effort, asking for his prayers for all those involved.
Presenting maps and statistical information the ACN representatives underscored the extent of the damage, the ongoing reconstruction and numbers of returning families as well as the ecumenical nature of the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee about which the Holy Father expressed a deep interest.
The three-day ICLN annual assembly gathered over 250 Catholic legislators from 30 countries. ACN Public Affairs presented the Nineveh Reconstruction Project during a special panel on Persecuted Christians.