Pope Francis will auction off a pricey Lamborghini Huracan to help Christian communities in Iraq that have been decimated by the Islamic State.
Francis will forgo toting around in the high-end Italian sports car and instead give the Huracan away to rebuild the communities ISIS destroyed. The money will go to a charity helping women who were trafficked into and out of Iraq.
Francis blessed the car the magazine Top Gear named “The Supercar of the Year 2014” during a Vatican City ceremony Wednesday after originally receiving it as gift from Lamborghini. The luxury car likely exceeds a $236,000 price tag.
The sale of the sports car would help work toward allowing displaced Christians “to finally return to their roots and recover their dignity,” the Vatican said in a statement following the ceremony.
ISIS attacked churches and razed Christian shops during the group’s takeover of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
In its takeover of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, ISIS attacked churches and Christian shops. The terrorist group forced Iraq’s 3,000 Christians to flee or be killed unless they converted to Islam or pay jizya, a fee that non-believers must pay to live in Islamic communities.
Francis raised some eyebrows in September when he called for a week of prayer to aid refugee families and spread Catholic social teachings.
The week of prayer was slated to begin on the anniversary of the 1571 Battle of Lepanto when a Christian fleet formed by countries of the Holy League and various Papal states defeated the Ottomans and turned the tide against the Muslim conquest of Europe.
Conservative Catholics considered the move ironic, given that the majority of refugees fleeing to Europe are Muslim.
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