Vatican City, Nov 17, 2016 / 08:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a meeting with the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East Thursday, Pope Francis criticized ongoing violence in Iraq and Syria, saying no motive can justify or allow the killing of innocent people, especially children.

Asking the Lord for the “gift of peace,” the Pope said he was “dismayed by what continues to happen in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria.”