Pope Francis admonished the ‘child-like’ attempts of powerful world leaders who enter wars and cause destruction. He was indicating current Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He urged leaders of world religion to work towards peace and condemned leaders who use religion to justify war.
The conference was sponsored by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalif in the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain. During the conference, he put forth his views that there should be an intermingling of people from various faith to bring peace and prosperity.
The conference was attended by Muslim Imams, US rabbis, and Orthodox Christians where every speaker condemned the conflict happening in Ukraine and beseeched to end the war and start immediate negotiation. On the other hand, the Russian Orthodox Church justified the war in Kremlin.
This was Pope Francis’s second visit to Arabian Gulf after the 2019 important visit to Abu Dhabi where a significant document was signed to bolster the Muslim-Catholic brotherhood. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb. Al-Tayeb the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning in Cairo was instrumental in achieving Muslim-Christian dialogue.
Francis praised the tradition of religious tolerance in Bahrain. He acknowledged the religious freedom in Bahrain and that Christians can freely practice their faith, unlike orthodox Saudi Arabia. There are Christians and Jews following their religion in Bahrain which is predominantly a Muslim country.
