By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — With Russia’s war in Ukraine raging, Pope Francis joined Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders Friday in calling for the world’s great religions work together for peace, telling an interfaith summit that religion must not ever be used to justify violence and that faith leaders must counter the “childlike” whims of the powerful to make war.
On his second day within the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, Francis closed out a conference on East-West dialogue sponsored by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. It was his second such conference in as many months, following one in Kazakhstan, evidence of Francis’ core belief that moments of encounter amongst people of various faiths can assist heal today’s conflicts and promote a more just and sustainable world.
Sitting around him within the Sakhir royal palace grounds were leading Muslim imams, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and U.S. rabbis who’ve long engaged in interfaith dialogue, in addition to the king. Speaker after speaker called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the beginning of peace negotiations. The Russian Orthodox Church, which sent an envoy to the conference, has strongly supported the Kremlin in its war and justified it on religious grounds.
Francis told the gathering that, while the world appears to be heading apart like two opposing seas, the mere presence of spiritual leaders together was evidence that they “intend to set sail on the identical waters, selecting the route of encounter relatively than that of confrontation.”
Political Cartoons on World Leaders
Political Cartoons
“It’s a striking paradox that, while nearly all of the world’s population is united in facing the identical difficulties, affected by grave food, ecological and pandemic crises, in addition to an increasingly scandalous global injustice, just a few potentates are caught up in a resolute struggle for partisan interests,” he said.
“We look like witnessing a dramatic and childlike scenario: within the garden of humanity, as a substitute of cultivating our surroundings, we’re playing as a substitute with fire, missiles and bombs, weapons that bring sorrow and death, covering our common home with ashes and hatred,” he said.
King Hamad, for his part, urged a coherent effort to stop Russia’s war in Ukraine and promote peace negotiations, “for the great of all of humanity.”
The visit is Francis’ second to a Gulf Arab country, following his 2019 landmark trip to Abu Dhabi, where he signed a document promoting Catholic-Muslim fraternity with a number one Sunni cleric, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb. Al-Tayeb is the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning in Cairo, and has grow to be Francis’ key partner in promoting greater Christian-Muslim understanding.
Al-Tayeb joined Francis in Bahrain and was available last month in Kazakhstan too. In his prepared remarks, called Friday for an end to Russia’s war “to spare the lives of innocents who don’t have any hand on this violent tragedy.”
Al-Tayeb also called for Sunni and Shiite Muslims to interact in an identical strategy of dialogue and check out to heal their centuries of divisions, saying Al-Azhar was prepared to host such an encounter.
“Allow us to together push back any talk of hate, provocation and excommunication and put aside ancient and modern conflict in all its forms and with all its negative offshoots,” he said. Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni monarchy that has been accused by human rights groups of systematic discrimination against its Shiite majority, charges the federal government rejects.
Later Friday, al-Tayeb was to fulfill privately with Francis and take part in a bigger encounter on the mosque within the royal palace with the Muslim Council of Elders, which he heads.
Francis was also bringing his message of dialogue to Bahrain’s Christian leaders by presiding over an ecumenical meeting and peace prayer on the Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, the most important Catholic Church within the Gulf, which was inaugurated last yr on land gifted to the church by Al Khalifa.
Francis opened his visit to Bahrain on Thursday by urging Bahrain authorities resign the death penalty and ensure basic human rights are guaranteed for all residents — a nod to Bahraini Shiite dissidents who say they’ve been harassed and detained, subject to torture and “sham trials,” with some sentenced to death for his or her political activities. The federal government denies discriminating against Shiites.
Francis also aimed to spotlight Bahrain’ tradition of spiritual tolerance: Unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, where Christians cannot openly practice their faith, Bahrain is home to several Christian communities in addition to a small Jewish community.
In his prepared remarks to the forum, U.S. Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has long worked to advertise Jewish-Muslim understanding and serves as Al Khalifa’s special advisor on interfaith matters, praised Bahrain as a “role model within the Arab world for coexistence and tolerance of various faith communities.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely accountable for this content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material will not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
