Pandemic, security pose challenges, but pope hopeful for Iraq visit
The Iraqi government is responsible for the pope s safety and that of his entourage during the visit
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Pope Francis, assisted by Monsignor Luis Maria Rodrigo Ewart, holds a weekly livestreamed private audience from the apostolic palace in the Vatican on Feb. 10. (Photo: Vatican Media/AFP)
Despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and security concerns, Pope Francis hopes to visit Iraq, an opportunity that eluded his predecessors.
Iraqis are excited that he is scheduled to come, despite those concerns. Iraqi Christians are very much optimistic because it s a sign of hope and solidarity despite the pandemic, despite the security challenge. It s a strong sign of solidarity, Iraqi Father Emanuel Youkhana told Catholic News Service by phone from the northern city of Dahuk. Father Youkhana is a priest, or archimandrite, of the Assyrian Church of the East.
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.
Pope: Human fraternity is âchallenge of our centuryâ Judge Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Salam, secretary general of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Egypt s al-Azhar mosque and university, and Pope Francis are pictured in this screen capture from 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)
Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency 2/5/2021 8:33 AM
select Pope Francis shakes hands with Sheik Ahmad el-Tayeb, grand imam of Egypt s al-Azhar mosque and university, during a document signing at an interreligious meeting at the Founder s Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in this Feb. 4, 2019, file photo. The Vatican announced that the pope will participate in a virtual meet
1.
You are a priest from Cape Town, and you are a lecturer at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies. How did a priest from Cape Town end up teaching Arabic and Islamic studies of all things, in Rome?
Years ago, while working as a parish priest in one of the Cape Flats parishes, I suggested to the Archbishop that somebody ought to make an academic study of Islam. This was, in part, because of the numbers of those practicing Islamic faith in those parts of the Cape, but also because there were so many families in the parish in which a son or daughter had, for one or more reasons, converted to Islam. They did not cease to be members of the own families and therefore, by extension, the parish community. I thought it would be important to possess enough knowledge to stand with reverence before the life choices they had made, without necessarily agreeing with them, and to be able to talk about faith and God with them in a way that was respectful and coheren
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.