Categories: World

“We must condemn the violent”, says Pope Francis on religious fanaticism

“We must condemn the violent”, says Pope Francis on religious fanaticism

From Bahrain, in the Middle East, where he participated in the closing of a forum to promote dialogue between East and West, Pope Francis spoke harsh words against religious fanaticism: “It is not enough to say that a religion is peaceful, it is necessary to condemn and isolate the violent”.

Religious personalities from all over the world participated in the congress: Muslims, Jews and Christians. On the guest list was the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate’s minister for dialogue with the Islamic world.

In front of all of them and in the presence of the King of Bahrain, the pontiff reviewed the current international situation, marked by wars such as the one in Ukraine:

“We are witnessing a dramatically childish scenario: in the garden of humanity, instead of taking care of everyone, they play with fire, missiles and bombs, with weapons that cause tears and death, filling the common house with ashes and hatred”.

Faced with this scenario, Francis said that leaders have a duty to “set a good example” and that they are called to “question themselves, enter into a crisis and know how to dialogue with patience, respect and a spirit of listening”.

He said it is important to invest in education because “where educational opportunities are lacking, extremisms increase and fundamentalisms take root”.

He also called for “recognition of women in the public sphere” and “examination” of religious freedom: “It is not enough to grant authorizations and recognize freedom of worship.”

At the pope’s side was the great imam of al Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, a Sunni moral leader. For years, both carried out a campaign to make world religious leaders aware of the need to condemn bigotry, although the Grand Imam also had words against Western leaders:

“A few days ago, we heard a statement from a high-ranking European official who described Europe as an idyllic garden of prosperity and the rest of the world basically as a jungle. These irresponsible statements just show great ignorance about the civilizations of the East and their history, which goes back over 5,000 years, not just three or four hundred years.”

Bahrain is the 39th international trip for the Argentine pope, who continues to have knee problems. When greeting the journalists on the plane to Bahrain, he regretted not being able to go to each one’s location to greet them, as usual: “I am very sore today and I don’t feel able to do the rounds”, he said. .

Even so, a few days ago he indicated that he remains determined to visit Africa in February, after having suspended a trip to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo in July.

 
  

Source: CNN Brasil