{"id":34275,"date":"2014-07-24T13:43:25","date_gmt":"2014-07-24T13:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=34275"},"modified":"2014-07-24T13:43:25","modified_gmt":"2014-07-24T13:43:25","slug":"sudan-apostasy-woman-meets-pope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/07\/sudan-apostasy-woman-meets-pope\/","title":{"rendered":"Sudan ‘apostasy’ woman meets Pope"},"content":{"rendered":"
A Sudanese woman who fled to Italy after being spared a death sentence for renouncing Islam has met the Pope.<\/p>\n
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag flew to Rome with her family after more than a month in the US embassy in Khartoum.<\/p>\n
There was global condemnation when she was sentenced to hang for apostasy by a Sudanese court.<\/p>\n
Mrs Ibrahim’s father is Muslim so according to Sudan’s version of Islamic law she is also Muslim and cannot convert.<\/p>\n
She was raised by her Christian mother and says she has never been Muslim.<\/p>\n
Welcoming her at the airport, Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said: “Today is a day of celebration.”<\/p>\n
Mrs Ibrahim met Pope Francis at his Santa Marta residence at the Vatican soon after her arrival.<\/p>\n
“The Pope thanked her for her witness to faith,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
The meeting, which lasted around half an hour, was intended to show “closeness and solidarity for all those who suffer for their faith,” he added.<\/p>\n
‘Mission accomplished’<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Alan Johnston in Rome says there was no prior indication of Italy’s involvement in the case.<\/p>\n