MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, Pope Francis on Friday joined Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders in calling on the world’s major religions to fight together for peace, saying at an interfaith summit that faith will never be used to justify violence and that devout leaders will have to counter the “childish” whims of harsh war wages.
At the time in the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain, Francis closed a convention on the East-West discussion sponsored by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. It was his moment such a convention in so many months, after Kazakhstan, evidence of Francis’ basic conviction that moments of encounter between other people of other religions can help today’s conflicts and promote a more just and sustainable world.
Sitting around him on the grounds of the Sakhir Royal Palace were prominent Muslim imams, the non-secular leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians and American rabbis who have long been committed to interreligious dialogue, as well as the king. Speaker after speaker, he called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine and the opening of peace negotiations. The Russian Orthodox Church, which sent an emissary to the conference, strongly supported the Kremlin in its war and justified it on grounds.
Francis told the meeting that while the world appears to be parting like two opposing seas, the mere presence of devout leaders in combination was evidence that they “intend to navigate the same waters, opting for the direction of the encounter rather than confrontation. “
“It is a striking paradox that, while the majority of the world’s population is united to face the same challenges, suffering severe food, ecological and pandemic crises, as well as shocking global injustice, some potentates are caught in a resolute struggle. for partisan interests,” he said.
“It seems that we are witnessing a dramatic and childish scenario: on the lawn of humanity, to cultivate what surrounds us, we play with fire, missiles and bombs, cannons that bring pain and death, covering our not unusual house with ash and hatred. He said.
This stopover is Francis’ moment in a Gulf Arabian country, following his historic 2019 in Abu Dhabi, where he signed a document selling the Catholic-Muslim fraternity with a prominent Sunni cleric, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb. Al-Tayeb is the great imán. de Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning in Cairo, and has become Francis’ key wife in selling greater understanding between Christians and Muslims.
Al-Tayeb joined Francis in Bahrain and also performed last month in Kazakhstan. In his prepared remarks, he called Friday for an end to Russia’s war “to save the lives of other innocent people who have nothing to do with this violent tragedy. “
“Let’s expel together all hate speech, provocation and excommunication and separate the old and fashionable conflicts with all their bureaucracy and all their negative ramifications,” he said. Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni monarchy that has been accused of human rights. Teams systematically discriminate against opponents of their Shiite majority, tariffs that the government rejects.
Francis also took his discussion message to Bahrain’s Christian leaders by presiding over an ecumenical assembly and prayer for peace at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, the largest Catholic church in the Gulf, which opened last year on land donated to the church through Al Khalifa.
Francis opened his own to Bahrain on Thursday by urging Bahrain’s government to renounce the death penalty and guarantee fundamental human rights for all citizens, a nod to Bahrain’s Shiite dissidents who say they have been harassed and detained, subjected to torture and “mock trials,” with some sentenced to death for their political activities. The government denies any discrimination against Shiites.
Francis also aimed to highlight Bahrain’s culture of devout tolerance: Unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, where Christians practice their faith brazenly, Bahrain is home to several Christian communities as well as a small Jewish community.
In his prepared remarks at the forum, U. S. Rabbi Marc Schneier, who has long worked to publicize Muslim Jews and serves as al Khalifa’s special adviser on interfaith issues, praised Bahrain as a “model in global Arabic for the coexistence and tolerance of other devout communities.
The Associated Press’ devoted policy comes through AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with investment from the Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is only guilty of this content.
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