Pope Francis made a strong declaration of support to troubled Iraqi Christians at his weekly audience on Wednesday (September 3), saying that the church was proud of its "persecuted children".

''I warmly greet all Arabic-speaking pilgrims, particularly those who come from Iraq. The Church is a mother and like all mothers knows how to support the needy child, to lift up the fallen child, to cure the sick child, to look for the one that has been lost and to shake the one that has been sleeping, and also defend the defenceless and persecuted children," Pope Francis said speaking to thousands of people attending the open air audience in St. Peter's square.

Proclaiming a caliphate straddling parts of Iraq and Syria, the militants of Islamic State have swept across northern Iraq, pushing back Kurdish regional forces and driving tens of thousands of Christians and members of the Yazidi religious minority from their homes.

The Pope has always been careful not to give the impr