The moment through a pope to the Arabian Peninsula after Francis to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2019 also aims to inspire interfaith discussion between Muslims and Christians, and will come with the pontiff leading a prayer for peace in a sprawling elegant cathedral. It opened last year.
But complaints about Bahrain’s human rights record have already erupted ahead of Francis’ trip, which lasts until Sunday, as foreign rights teams urge him to denounce alleged abuses against Shiites, activists and opposition figures in the Sunni-ruled monarchy.
Francis, 85, who will likely be confined to a wheelchair because of recurring knee pain, will arrive at 4:45 p. m. local time (13:45 GMT) and will pay a “courtesy visit” with King Hamad bin Isa. Al-Khalifa after a welcoming ceremony.
He will then deliver a speech to authorities, diplomats and members of civil society, during his official schedule.
On Friday, Francis will face the “Bahrain Dialogue Forum: East and West for Human Coexistence,” organized by the UAE-funded Council of Muslim Elders, followed by a personal assembly with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Cairo. – founded in Al-Azhar, Egypt’s Sunni institution.
The two devout leaders signed a joint document promising the interfaith coexistence of Francis’ holiday to the UAE in 2019.
The Argentine pope has made outreach to Muslim communities a precedent of his pontificate, visiting major Muslim countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Iraq, and most recently in September, Kazakhstan.
On Tuesday, Francis asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for his upcoming trip, calling it “an adventure, the banner of dialogue. “
Ahead of the trip, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told reporters he would guess whether Francis would address the issue of human rights.
But the pope’s vision “on freedom and freedom is transparent and known,” Bruni said.
Francis’ stopover in Bahrain comes amid a recent review of neighboring Qatar’s rights record — namely the remedy for low-income migrant workers, women and the LBGTQ network — ahead of the World Cup later this month, which it hosts.
But on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch and 8 other human rights teams called on Francis to publicly pressure Bahrain to “stop all executions, abolish the death penalty, and seriously investigate allegations of torture and violations of the right to a fair trial. “
They also called on Francis to demand greater coverage for migrant staff and opposition figures, journalists and others jailed since the crackdown that followed pro-democracy protests in 2011.
A government spokesman rejected the groups’ accusations, saying Tuesday that Bahrain “tolerates discrimination” and that no one is prosecuted for their devout or political beliefs.
Friday’s “prayer for peace” will take place at the cavernous Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, which seats more than 2,000 people and opened in December. , adding India and the Philippines.
On Saturday, Francis will lead Mass at Bahrain’s National Stadium in front of a crowd of about 30,000 people, where on Wednesday staff put the finishing touches, adding a giant gold cross over Francis’ chair.
Some 2,000 places will be reserved for Catholics arriving from Saudi Arabia, Archbishop Paul Hinder, apostolic administrator of the North Arabian vicariate, told Vatican News.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni power, the cradle of Islam, is an absolute monarchy accused of abuses by human rights groups. Riyadh does not recognize freedom of faith and bans all non-Muslim places of worship.
Francis will preside over a prayer assembly with Catholic clergy and others on Sunday before his return to Rome.