From: Inside Story America
Pope Francis: A symbol of change?
We examine the political, cultural and religious impact of the Latin American pope’s ordination on the region.
15 Mar 2013
We examine the political, cultural and religious impact of the Latin American pope’s ordination on the region.
![For more than 11 years, Younous Chekkouri has been behind bars [Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/20137516290244734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
![Pope Francis, right, meets with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, Iraq [Vatican Media/AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/AP_21065258719098.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C5725px%2C3819px&resize=170%2C113)
![The Great Ziggurat temple in the ancient city of Ur in southern Iraq's Dhi Qar province [File: Asaad Niazi/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/000_92D9KX.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her daughter Gabriella pose for a photo in London, UK, on February 7, 2016 [File: Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-07T120723Z_705724681_RC2C6M9THI09_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-BRITAIN-ZAGHARI.jpg?resize=170%2C113)
![Rights groups have warned that the threat no longer makes any distinction between armed rebels and other rights defenders as well as critics of the Duterte administration [Eloisa Lopez/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2020-06-04T000000Z_1055589267_RC2D2H9D4HAY_RTRMADP_3_PHILIPPINES-RIGHTS-PROTESTS.jpg?resize=170%2C113)