Pope Francis has said he would have liked to have gone to Marrakesh in December when over 150 countries signed the United Nations Global Compact for Migration | Photo Credit: APVatican City: Pope Francis heads to Morocco on Saturday, the first pope to do so in 35 years, with interreligious dialogue and immigration on the agenda. - Freedom of religion -"We dream of a free Morocco that takes responsibility for its religious diversity," the Christian Moroccan Coordination said ahead of the visit, hoping for a "historic occasion" for Morocco to "move forward in this direction". A religious official in Rabat who asked not to be named said that in Morocco "discretion is the name of the game". - Migrants -Pope Francis has said he would have liked to have gone to Marrakesh in December when over 150 countries signed the United Nations Global Compact for Migration. Then King Hassan II was the first Arab head of state to invite the pope to visit, and he himself visited the Vatican in 1991.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2019 21:45 UTC