'A testament to hope': 7 Christian leaders react to death of Pope Francis
5. Johnnie Moore
The Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Congress of Christian Leaders and an Evangelical public relations executive, urged Evangelicals to "pray for the Catholic Church, as they mourn the passing of Pope Francis and prepare to select his successor."
Moore said he participated in the late pope's pilgrimages to the United Arab Emirates, which was reportedly the first time a pontiff had ever visited the Arabian Peninsula and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
"I am so grateful for his historic efforts to build bridges between Catholics and Muslim countries, an effort which helped all Christians. In my view, this is his greatest legacy," tweeted Moore.
Moore, a former commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, called Francis an "unrelenting advocate for persecuted Christians," especially believers in Iraq and Syria when the Islamic State was at its height.
"For his entire papacy, the cross he wore around his neck was a cross once worn by a martyred priest in Mosul, Iraq. He carried with him every day, the memory of the persecuted church."
