By Philip Pullella
AWALI, Bahrain – Pope Francis on Friday appealed to non secular leaders to assist deliver the world again from “the brink of a fragile precipice” and oppose a brand new race to rearm that he mentioned was redesigning Chilly Battle-era spheres of affect.
Francis spoke on his first full day in Bahrain as he closed a discussion board on East-West dialogue promoted by the king of the Gulf nation the place, in contrast to Saudi Arabia, Christians are allowed to follow their religion publicly in church buildings.
The go to continues the pope’s coverage of bettering ties with the Islamic world following an historic go to to Abu Dhabi in 2019, the primary by any pope to the Arabian peninsula. He has visited about 10 predominantly Muslim states since his election in 2013.
Francis, who suffers from a knee ailment that forces him to make use of a wheelchair and cane, wove his speech across the function of religions in selling peace, disarmament and social justice.
“After two horrible world wars, a chilly struggle that for many years saved the world in suspense, catastrophic conflicts happening in each a part of the globe, and within the midst of accusations, threats and condemnations, we proceed to search out ourselves getting ready to a fragile precipice and we don't wish to fall,” he mentioned in a gleaming marble courtyard of the royal palace.
Apparently referring to Ukraine, Francis condemned a scenario the place “a couple of potentates are caught up in a resolute battle for partisan pursuits, reviving out of date rhetoric, redesigning spheres of affect and opposing blocs”.
RELIGIONSCANNOTBACKWAR
Francis, who helps a complete ban on nuclear weapons and has usually condemned the worldwide arms commerce, mentioned non secular leaders can not assist wars – in obvious reference to Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, who has given enthusiastic backing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and who the pope has implicitly criticised earlier than.
Talking earlier than the pope, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa known as for unanimity in stopping the struggle between Russia and Ukraine, and a “severe dialogue for the nice of all humanity”.
The pope echoed the decision, as did the third speaker, Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque and college, who signed the 2019 “Human Fraternity” doc, a landmark manifesto on the function of religions in looking for peace.
Francis, with out naming any nations, additionally condemned the financing of terrorism.
On Friday afternoon, Francis addressed Bahrain’s Muslim Council of Elders within the courtyard of the royal mosque, the place he praised these Muslim leaders who “see in extremism a hazard that corrodes real faith” and known as for extra dialogue between Islam and different religions.
“We have to put a way forward for fraternity forward of a previous of antagonism, overcoming historic prejudices and misunderstandings within the title of the One who's the supply of peace,” he mentioned.
A small boy recited a verse from the Koran and a woman learn a passage from the Previous Testomony.
Francis later was presiding at a prayer service on the cathedral of Our Woman of Arabia, the biggest church on the Arabian peninsula and one of many two church buildings serving Bahrain’s tiny Catholic neighborhood of about 160,000.
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