A screen capture shows Pope Francis attending a Feb. 4, 2021, virtual meeting marking the International Day of Human Fraternity, a new effort to promote dialogue between cultures and religions. The pope was among several world and religious leaders who participated in the meeting. (CNS photo) Feb. 4, 2021 Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY The world must begin to realize its shared humanity in order to live peacefully, otherwise it risks falling apart in endless conflicts, Pope Francis said. Today, there is no time for indifference, the pope said Feb. 4 at a virtual event commemorating the first International Day of Human Fraternity. We cannot wash our hands of it, with distance, with disregard, with contempt. Either we are brothers and sisters or everything falls apart. It is the frontier, the frontier on which we have to build; it is the challenge of our century, it is the challenge of our time, he said.
Will Pope Francis prove clash of civilizations wrong?
Pontiff s narrative aims to foster enhanced interfaith dialogue between cultural and religious groups
Pope Francis leads his weekly livestreamed audience in the Vatican on Feb. 3. Since becoming pope in 2013, his trips have been to non-Christian nations, pleading for religious pluralism and peaceful coexistence. (Photo: Vatican Media/AFP)
In an indirect riposte, Pope Francis is trying to prove the confrontational rhetoric of Samuel Huntington s “clash of civilizations” wrong.
The pontiff has helped piece together a counter-narrative against the former Harvard professor s social theory, stressing the importance of harmonious civilizational relations. It also advocates moderation in place of fundamentalism as a common ground to challenge the entrenched perception that certain cultures and religions are incapable of change.
UAE users woke up to the change on February 4, 2021…
Eagle-eyed residents may have spotted a change to their network provider name on Thursday December 4 to ‘Fraternity’. If you’ve spotted it and wondering why? Well, it’s to help celebrate the Human Fraternity Festival.
The event will run from February 4 to 8 and is being organised by the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, in cooperation with the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Cabinet Member and Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, will inaugurate the first Human Fraternity Festival.
The festival, which will be held remotely will be attended by over 100 federal and local authorities and international organisations, along with local, international and United Nations leaders, scholars and intellectuals specialising in tolerance, coexistence and human fraternity.
Feb 2, 2021
Pope to participate in first International Day of Human Fraternity
The Holy Father will mark the International Day of Human Fraternity in a virtual meeting on 4 February, the date set by the United Nations General Assembly for this new annual occasion. He will do so together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb. The event will be hosted in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.
Vatican Media
Pope Francis will celebrate the International Day of Human Fraternity on Thursday, 4 February, in a virtual event hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, with the participation of the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb; Secretary General António Guterres of the United Nations; and other personalities.