Sally Mousa sent me an article last week that really warmed my heart and soul. The title of the article is “UAE vision of interfaith harmony takes shape in Abrahamic House of Fraternity.” Reporting for The National, Arthur MacMillan provides the details. Officially known as the Abrahamic Family House, the complex (pictured above) will be…… Continue reading Introducing the Abrahamic Family House
Slavery is not a thing of the past. Fact. There is a modern-day slave market in Libya where African migrants are caught in a brutal chain of human trafficking, as Reuters reported. Narciso Contreras, a Pulitzer Price-winning photographer, spoke to migrants turned Libyan slaves (as documented in the Reuters piece). Contreras stated: “What I found…… Continue reading Slavery is Alive and Well in Libya
Speaking recently to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Francis called for an end to the violent persecution of the minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The Pope, who has promoted the “dialogue of civilizations” and the “culture of encounters,” continues to be a vocal advocate of religious freedom and critic of…… Continue reading It’s Time for World Leaders to Finally Stop the Slow Genocide of Rohingya Muslims
The Independent published an important piece on Pope Francis’ effort to combat Islamophobia and promote the dialogue of civilizations between Muslims and Christians. Two people close to Pope Francis – Antonio Spadaro and Marcelo Figueroa (a Protestant) – wrote a joint article in La Civiltà Cattolica, a journal published by Jesuit priests in Rome and…… Continue reading Top Allies of Pope Francis Denounce Islamophobic Views of Some U.S. Christians
How do Christians engage with Muslims? For some Christians, there is no engagement at all. Polls have actually found a correlation between a lack of engagement with Muslims and Islamophobia among Christian Americans. Other Christians in the United States and around the world engage with Islam in an energetic way. Pope Francis is one such…… Continue reading Pope Francis Calls on Christians to “Cross Over to the Other Side” to Meet Muslims
I woke up yesterday to some horrific news. Muslims attacked a Church during mass in Youhanabad, a predominantly Christian-populated area of Lahore, Pakistan. 14 Christians were killed and more than 70 were injured. Both Christianity and Pakistan are close to my heart. I’m a Catholic American of Irish and Italian descent. I’m also a scholar who researches the Pakistani…… Continue reading A Message to Pakistani Muslims Who Attack My Fellow Christians
“For the first time in history, Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran will be heard at the Vatican on Sunday, in a move by Pope Francis to usher in peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Francis issued the invitation to Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his visit last week…… Continue reading For the First Time in History, Islamic Prayers and Readings from the Quran Will be Heard at the Vatican
His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday held talks with Pope Francis at the Vatican, focusing on bilateral relations, peace efforts and issues relating to dialogue and Islamic-Christian coexistence, according to a Royal Court statement. During the meeting, the King voiced Jordan’s keenness on enhancing its relations with the Vatican as both sides are partners in…… Continue reading Pope Francis and King of Jordan Oppose “Clash of Civilizations,” Call For “Culture of Dialogue”
Source: altmuslim.com Pope Francis is not the first pope to win the respect of Muslims – John Paul II was so loved around the Muslim world that even the Taliban mourned his passing – but his outreach to Muslims during the early days of his tenure has struck a deep chord in Muslim communities around…… Continue reading Pope Francis Building Bridges With Muslims Makes Top Ten Good News Muslim Stories of 2013
During Mass today in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflected on an Old Testament reading from Samuel (1:24). In the passage, David had the chance to kill King Saul, but he chooses, as the Holy Father noted, “a different path: the path of dialogue, to make peace.” Francis’ message encourages Christians to build bridges of dialogue,…… Continue reading Pope Francis: Christians Must Build Bridges of Dialogue
Just days after I wrote about Pope Francis’ speech on ending the “culture of indifference” towards Muslim refugees, the Holy Father emerged today with an equally powerful comment on how Christians and Muslims should lean on each other and share their belief in the “One God.” Vatican Insider reports that during a gathering at the…… Continue reading The Pope: Christian and Muslim Refugees Must Share Their Belief in God
Vatican Radio reported today on Pope Francis’s appeal for migrants and refugees and an end to “the culture of indifference.” Although he did not explicitly mention them in his address at Saint Peter’s Square, one can be certain that the Holy Father was speaking to Muslims. The Pope stated that migrants and refugees around the world,…… Continue reading Pope Francis: End the Culture of Indifference Towards Muslims
Here are a few messages which Pope Francis relayed to students from Rome’s universities: “You must live, not just exist… Please don’t look at life from the sidelines, accept challenges… You must not be spectators but protagonists… Don’t be mediocre, bored or like everyone else… You can’t live without facing challenges… Don’t stand on the…… Continue reading Pope Francis challenges students to “live, not just exist”
Source: Catholic News Service By Carol Glatz Money by itself isn’t a problem, but greed and an attachment to money cause evil and destroy families and relationships, Pope Francis said. “Money is needed to bring about many good things,” he said in his morning Mass homily Oct. 21, “but when your heart is attached (to…… Continue reading Greed and Attachment to Money Cause Evil, Pope Francis Says
Source: Vatican Insider “I am in awe at everything Francis is doing: I believe his pontificate gives not just the Catholic Church but the entire humanity a chance.” This is according to Polish-born sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, who coined the phrase “liquid modernity”. In an interview with Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, Bauman said “Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s…… Continue reading Top sociologist Zygmunt Bauman believes Pope Francis gives “entire humanity a chance”
Source: Washington Post By Akbar Ahmed To understand the pope’s approach, method and message, take a look at his visit to the island of Lampedusa. The small island in the Mediterranean has become a battleground of the larger ideas that are in conflict in Europe. It has been visited by rightwing leaders who denounce immigrants…… Continue reading Pope Francis: Lampedusa is Center of ‘Globalization of Indifference’
But Pope Francis was not taking a path outside his faith tradition. On the contrary he was reverting to its foundational principles. He is inspired by two figures above all – Jesus and Saint Francis; indeed taking the name of the latter after being elected pope. He has learned from them that Christianity in its…… Continue reading Salam and Salutation to Pope Francis
Here is a collection of quotes from Pope Francis directed towards Muslims. This post will be updated as Pope Francis continues to speak about dialogue, common ground, and mutual respect between Christians and Muslims worldwide. On dialogue “Turning to mutual respect in interreligious relations, especially between Christians and Muslims, we are called to respect the…… Continue reading Comments by Pope Francis Emphasize Bridge Building with Muslims
Pope Francis continues to amaze. Recently he invited 200 homeless people to have dinner with him at the Vatican. The dinner was organized by Circle of Saint Peter, a papal charity as “a concrete sign of the Pope’s charity.” Pope Francis is coming through on an address he gave in March in which he decried a…… Continue reading Pope Francis’s Homeless Dinner at the Vatican
Dear Pope Francis, I have had the utmost admiration for you. Your new leadership in terms of interfaith relations, especially with Muslims, is such a breath of fresh air. You are such a welcoming leader. We can see it in your beautiful smile. We can see it in your everyday actions. You have made us…… Continue reading Letter to Pope Francis on Child Sex Abuse Scandal
Pope Francis continues to impress on the interfaith scene. His latest remarks on anti-Semitism among Christians should only strengthen the bonds between Christians and Jews. In a speech today in front of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, Pope Francis said that due to the common roots shared with Jews, “a Christian cannot be…… Continue reading Christians Cannot Be Anti-Jewish or Anti-Muslim, Pope Francis Says
I like Pope Francis more and more with each passing day! On May 18, the Pope raised the issue of the “moral crisis” plaguing the hearts and minds of Christians around the world. To explain the crisis, Pope Francis used the state of homelessness as an example. He stated to a huge international audience in St. Peter’s Square:…… Continue reading Be a good Christian, forget Hollywood scandals and help the homeless
“So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” – Revelation 3:16 Here’s a look at Pope Francis’ meaningful words about how many of today’s Christians are too “wrapped up in [their] petty things, [their] jealousies, envy, careerism, in going ahead selfishly.” According to the…… Continue reading Pope Francis refers to Revelation 3:16, calls out “lukewarm Christians without courage”
Hundreds of Pakistani Catholics recently lost their homes and livelihood in a widespread arson attack in the predominantly Catholic neighborhood of Joseph Colony, Lahore. In response to the attack, Rohan Emmanuel, a Pakistan writer, wrote in The Express Tribune of the Vatican’s unfortunate silence on the plight of Pakistani Catholics and other Christian communities in…… Continue reading Pope Francis I must address concerns of Catholics in Pakistan
The Jesuits, members of a religious order of Christianity founded in the 16th century, have entered the public spotlight after the election of Pope Francis I, himself a Jesuit. In reading more about the their philosophy, I stumbled across an interesting story about one of their missions to the court of Akbar the Great of…… Continue reading Pope Francis I, Akbar the Great, and the Jesuits
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