Pope Francis Breaks Some Taboos on Visit to Persian Gulf

Dear Pope “The declaration added that “the pluralism and the diversity of religions” was willed by God, and, “therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected.”” You could also say the same about your churches view of gender and sexuality. God created a diverse environment yet your church continues to discriminate against women and members of the LGBTQIA communities Embrace diversity in your church before you criticize others. What’s the saying? “remove the beam from your own eye before ....”

I appreciate very much the boldness and courage of the Pope to speak about the war in Yemen in a country which is actively taking part in this immoral war. It highlights his yearning for peace and justice and remarkable Christian feelings for the poor and suffering. The poor and helpless people of Yemen are suffering terribly from the indiscriminate bombings from Saudi Arabia and its allies, especially the UAE. I think one of the primary reason for wars and terrorism in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East is the inability of the people to accept and tolerate religious differences and other schools of thoughts. Thanks for speaking out for peace and religious tolerance.

Jesus broke a whole bunch of taboos in his day too. Eating with sinners, working on Sabbath Day (ie healing the sick), talking to women..

Bravo to Pope Francis. Step by step he is moving the Church closer to Christ, and and seeking to shed the hate, vice, insecurity, hypocrisy and pomposity that characterize many who act and preach in the name of religion. He is a human being, attempting to change the course of many others, in and out of the Church, who lead religions and governments and countless followers of those leaders. I am thankful for the steps he is taking. He cannot reasonably be faulted for failing to take on, at once, the numerous errors and evils that have accumulated over the existence of mankind. He is brave, but not stupid; religious, but not an extremist; moral, but realistic. Think about the life of Christ and whether Francis or others more closely follow the human elements of Christ's example, in his actions, patience, tolerance and example.

Both religions or rather their so-called representatives suppress and discriminate women. As long as this is all about fraternity and brotherhood instead of humanity, and as long as catholics and muslims do not grant women equal rights in their religious institutions and societies, they fail.

I fully appreciate the message of peace, tolerance and brotherhood of Pope Francis. I hope people especially those in authority listen to his message carefully and act on what he has so well said. All humanity is one. We are brothers and sisters regardless of race, religion, and culture. May it ever be so.

"Pope Francis Breaks Some Taboos on Visit to Persian Gulf" I think that in Abu Dhabi they might prefer "Arabian Gulf" or "Gulf"

The headline missed the main point of the article: a Muslim and a Christian leader united in calling for religious tolerance and non-violence. If Pope Francis deviated from anything, so did Sheik al-Tayeb, when they both veered from the enmity that has dominated the interactions of their religions' adherents for more than a thousand years.

I love Pope Francis. He truly walks Jesus’ talk. His words are indeed truth anout humanity and he sees all people as equal in God’s eyes. We need more Pope Francises in the world and less Trumps.

"Sheikh al-Tayeb...said that...Francis and he had shared thoughts about God’s prohibition of spilling human blood." Maybe they should have shared thoughts about the hypocrisy behind God's prohibition of spilling blood. In the course of human history, after all, at least up until Christianity and Islam stopped; crusading back and forth across the landscape trying to reclaim the "birthplace of our religion" through armed conflict; cleanings the heretics or punishing the reticent; forcefully spreading His word to the heathens, God's believers had spilled more human blood in His name, for His causes, than they had animal blood...

Francis needs to stay home and clean his own house. The day he leaves Arabia; it's back to business as usual. This religion persecuting that religion persecuting this sect and that sect. I saw no mention of the human rights violations against the LGBT community, so it's ok to keep persecuting and killing them. It is all a big photo-op that means nothing in the long run.

His historic visit to the centre of Islam clearly shows that Pope Francis is truly the Jesuit leader of his Faith..... Worldliness and Believe in Humanity and the Divine..... ....."the Ground of Being" (Paul Tillich, 1952) An existentialist theological approach to deal with humanitarian and political matters......

Well said Pope Francis.

“How, in short,” he asked, “can religions be channels of fraternity rather than barriers of separation?” Direct question needing direct answers. I admire Pope Francis' courage in asking this question in a face-to-face assembly of world religions. Probably, each of us has a story or two to tell when it comes to answering the same question.

Quote: The pope, who has advocated for persecuted Christian and Muslim migrants and for the poor of all stripes, whether they hail from the Middle East, Europe or the United States, urged his fellow religious leaders to oppose “the arming of borders, the raising of walls.” Pope Francis is a very wise person. Mankind needs to realize that no one society has all the answers on 'what is right'. We are put on earth to care for each other, not succumb to destruction, hatred and fear. The poorest among us need help but our resources increasingly go to the military. We cannot 'kill our way to peace'. The pope says religious leaders should oppose “the arming of borders, the raising of walls.” That's a direct hit to the US and Trump's policy based on hatred and fear.

Religion is not the problem but zealotry and tribalism in the name of religion are

'The declaration added that “the pluralism and the diversity of religions” was willed by God, and, “therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected.” ' Wow! Great to hear this from the Pope. The attempt to proselytize by sword or by other incentives - where the goal is not service, but proselytization - is inimical to the "will of God" as because the "diversity of religions was willed by God". I can buy that.

The soldiers were almost certainly not carrying machine guns (they're very heavy) but either submachine guns or assault rifles.

Taken literally, according to Trump's record as President, America will have no future.

The last thing Pope Francis should worry about is political correctness. Someone in his position should say more and on a consistent basis to condemn violence and the arrogance of power.

I admire Pope willingness to dialogue with different religions and culture.

All that It takes for evil to flourish is for good people to do nothing. Pope Francis is doing something. Hopefully at least part of his message will resonate.

Pope Francis is saying what needs to be said . Stop the violence in the name of all religions . It takes courage to step out like he has done . Stop the endless wars , the violence against humanity .

NYT: "At times, it seemed his hosts had not gotten the memo [as] in the morning, a salute by 21 heavy artillery guns welcomed the pope’s arrival to the presidential palace . . . " That's unfortunate; however, His Holiness was there, in person, and not cowering, speaking his piece/peace, saying: “There is no alternative: We will either build the future together or there will not be a future.” Gets my vote.

Well the men are going to use religion to fix the world. Maybe it would be wise to speak to the rest of humanity, women.

The declaration added that “the pluralism and the diversity of religions” was willed by God... Theologically speaking,God "allowed" not "willed"; by signing this declaration the pope is insinuating that God is negating the notion that salvation can only be found in Jesus: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Jesus said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) I think the pope should grow a backbone and just preach the gospel, but then he wouldn't be a Roman Catholic, he would be a Christian!

Religion is never the real cause of violence, it's simply the social cover for violence, its an excuse. Violence is always about who's got more stuff.

The three Abrahamic sky father religions come from common origins and have pervasive, inherent problems. Anyone who wants to understand the Pope, Islam or the kabuki theater of this papal visit with full context should read the tour de force masterpiece by the late Christopher Hitchens, titled "God is Not Great." Also, watch the hilarious and still-current Bill Maher movie, Religulous. My "prayer" is that the time will come when secular rationalism is the norm worldwide, and the religions represented by popes, imams and rabbis will be seen as the ancient history and dangerous mythology they really are.

The Pope has taken a chance here to speak up for the people of Yemen, caught in a proxy war, and to encourage peace. He has asked for justice for minority religions and for citizens denied rights. I hope that he can influence UAE and others to cease the Yemeni war. Notwithstanding the need to make progress on clerical child abuse, which this does not in any way obviate, the Pope has taken a risk here for peace and a lot of leaders need to join him in that.

Will the pope lecture the Arabs about how the Catholic Church treats women equally? Oh, wait...

I lived in Qatar for 3 years a few years back. I visited Abu Dhabi many times to visit a friend and his family. Along with them, I attended church services. It was remarkable that even church services were segregatd Hy nationalities - Philippines, one group, Indians - another group and the Arabs. Each group having their ministers. And indeed, the church - really an office building had anything overtly displayed that hinted it could be a church. In Qatar, the government gave land for a Catholic church but it was so far away from anything that few locals knew it existed. Now, as to the papal visit - thanks for a very vivid description of his arrival ceremony - brought back writings of Ottoman or Victorian times - all wonderfully described here. Thanks. As to this Pope - I was surprised that Pope Benedict's description of Islam as a religion with bloddy borders was not mentioned. As to his message on tolerance - most welcome. But he could have added without offending the hosts - Muslims need to reflect how their own religion has been hijacked by extremists who are killing each other. Finally, as to nationally rights. It simply can't happen. The Gulf States attract purely migrant workers who are there for one reason and one reason only - to earn money to support their families back home. Not too many would make the Gulf their home - even if nationality was offered.

It is not accurate to say that Francis is "a pope whose own church still recognizes the difference between a just and unjust war." The last three popes, Francis included, have all reflected that in a time of nuclear stockpiles, the just war theory must be reevaluated. Many theologians and church members agree with this.

score one for the pope.

“.... incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, .... using the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression.” But this is a playbook for gaining power. It always has been successful - and will continue to be successful.

My opinion is that religions are not going to solve the millennial old problems caused by the same religions.

Pope Francis does offer hope with uplifting thoughts. However, nothing will be changed in that region. This pope is the best pope with the best PR ever. What he can really change is the macho culture in the church. He may have made some progress and mistakes in the sexual abuse area. What about advocacy for female priests, marriage for priests, or birth control (not abortion which will always be a bridge too far).

This Pope is a truly great man, a saint. The advice:"Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, give unto God what is God's" has allowed the Catholic Church to survive a long time and provide vital services of health care and education. Affairs of State are never perfect; such leaders as this Pope do what they can. Sometimes you have to supp with the devil. I ask commentators to be realistic not naive.

"“How, in short,” he asked, “can religions be channels of fraternity rather than barriers of separation?” "His answer seemed to be a fundamental understanding that, beyond just tolerance, “all persons have equal dignity and that no one can be a master or slave of others.”" If the nature of the Divine is infinity, then It lies beyond the capacity of finite human minds to describe. All descriptions are mere approximations, useful only to the extent that they help induce a feeling of awe or devotion in worshipers. In other words, there can only be one infinite God, subject to worship by many finite minds in many different ways. Fraternity among various religious believers should be the natural state of humanity.

I pray that these religious leaders listen to and appreciate this messenger for all of our sakes.

The Pope should spend 100 percent of his time cleaning up his Church - from top to bottom. It’s a disgrace. I’ve lost all regard for the Pope. If he can’t or won’t do it, then at least he should resign.

What could be more appropriate for the Pope Francis, an emissary of peace and the teachings of nonviolence of Jesus Christ, than a honor guard of military soldiers with machine guns, a 21 heavy artillery cannon salute and a fly-over by military fighter jets? I'm afraid the pope's message (and that of Jesus) is lost in this world.

So the Pope thinks it’s just fine to follow any religion? Belief in Christ is no longer a prerequisite to salvation? Evangelists should shut up and mind their own business? Somehow I do not believe that. Wish I could but seems unlikely. Since most religious wars are supposed to be trying to eradicate non-believers or convert them to some true faith the only way to effectively end such violence is to proclaim all faiths equally divinely inspired or ban religion all together. As long as religious leaders consider their faith the one true faith the seeds of violence will persist.

A wise man, whose name escapes me at the moment, said that good people do good things and bad people do bad things, but to get good people to do bad things one must use religion.

Last year, Pope Francis lashed out at abuse victims for accusing a bishop of shielding their abuser, refused to deny accusations that he himself had shielded an abuser, and blamed the devil for the fact that bishops are under fire for shielding abusers. There is absolutely no question that this is a bad man who is deeply complicit in the Catholic Church’s culture of evil. Why, then, are we talking about papal trips to the Persian Gulf? Why is Francis not still engulfed in controversy? There are two reasons. First, liberal Catholics have the same relationship to Francis that conservative Evangelicals have to President Trump: they like the agenda, so the character of the man behind the agenda is not only worth ignoring, but worth lying about. And second, the media is not doing its job. Did the “Times” ever write a scathing editorial demanding that Francis step down, or that liberal Catholics reconsider their support for Francis? No, it didn’t. The “Times,” and the rest of the media, have treated Francis with kid gloves. And the result is that he’s still the Pope, and no one (except conservative, anti-gay Catholics and a handful of liberal atheists, like me) cares about how transparently wicked he is. It’s a disgrace of historic proportions.

I find it especially dissonant that the Pope was honored by his hosts with an armed-guard marchpast, a fly-over of fighter jets and an artillery salute. Are these things not vetted and discussed before the event, or is there a subtle message being sent that I somehow missed? Apropos of the region’s Christian population, might Francis have pointed out to his hosts that there were Christians in the region hundreds of years before the birth of the Prophet (blessed be His name, of course)? So many questions.

There is no example of the Catholic clergy in Europe, above the rank of parish priest or simple nun, who publicly protested the extermination of Jewish men, women, children and babies. Some of that clergy ended up in death camps, where they did at least survive far longer than Jews. The Pope has no right to refer to the consequences of war; the Church was as guilty as any German soldier claiming he was just following orders. And those consequences can include standing on the edge of a ditch with your children in your arms waiting to be murdered, so you might also want to think about the consequences of not practicing self defence. And speaking of which, where are those Vatican records of the Church saving Nazi war criminals after the war and spiriting them away to new lives in South America?

Pope Francis seems to be a good man. But how terribly quaint this all sounds.

It must have been an awkward moment for the assembled when Sheikh al-Tayeb denounced the media characterization of Muslims as bloodthirsty, barbaric and savage. None other than crown prince of Saudi Arabia has just recently engaged in the bloodthirsty, barbaric and savage act of first degree murder of a respected journalist and fellow Muslim.

That is pretty special. Stopping a war in Yemen and brokering a relationship that allows a non-Muslim church to exist would be great. Gender equality, well, I don’t thing that happens right now. But if you can get an insane man to act like a rational man instead of an mad animal you’re one step closer to humanity. This seems to be the Pope’s method. Equilibrium first. Equality second. I think it has a flaw here. There has been a deep seeded hate between Sunni and the Shiites. I certainly wish the idea well.

Was not Christ crucified by the religious intolerant of his day? The pope speaks truth, and truth is often divisive and inflammatory, as Jesus well knew.