A pope, a prince and an Imam walk side by side at an airport on the red carpet. It seems like the beginning of a bad bar joke, but instead, it was the start of a historic, first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula on Sunday.
International News
Can UAE Trip Push Past Both Regensburg and ‘Can’t We All Just Get Along?’
Pope Francis today begins a two-month period largely dedicated to outreach to Islam. If Pope Francis holds to form it’ll be a largely irenic effort premised on friendship and cooperation on shared values.
As Pope Heads to Gulf States, Issues From Islam to immigration Loom
After more than 2,000 years it’s hard to believe there are many “firsts” left for the Catholic Church, but the first-ever pope from the global south will notch yet another one on Sunday, when he becomes the first pope in history to set foot in the Gulf States with a Feb. 3-5 visit to United Arab Emirates.
Photos from Around World Youth Day Panama
Photos from all the exciting events over the course of World Youth Day Panama
After Philippine Catholic Church Bombing, Duterte Fires Threats
While conveying compassion and solidarity with his citizens, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte’s visit to a Catholic cathedral where Sunday’s bomb attack took place is also another sign of his odd and, at times, volatile relationship with the Catholic Church.
Pope Tells US Pilgrim: Clerical Sex Abuse Is a ‘Horrible Crime’
Pope Francis told an American pilgrim taking part in World Youth Day that clerical sex abuse is a “horrible crime” and that “even if it is just one person, the Church should not tolerate it.”
WYD Brings Affirmation, Joy, Graces to Diocesan Youth
As Brooklyn and Queens pilgrims arrived at the final and perhaps, most important days of their World Youth Day pilgrimage, they also reached the longest leg of their journey – walking at least seven miles for the evening prayer vigil with Pope Francis.
Pope to WYD Pilgrims: Jesus Is No ‘Passing Fad’
Speaking to over half a million young people from around the world on Sunday, Pope Francis said Jesus is not “an interval in life nor a passing fad,” but a loving God who’s concrete and close.
Catholic-Muslim Dialogue at Heart of Pope’s Abu Dhabi Trip, Archbishop Says
Pope Francis will “encourage the Catholics throughout the world to continue to put into practice the teachings of the Church regarding dialogue with Muslims” when he visits the United Arab Emirates, according to one expert on interreligious dialogue.
Expert Sees Asia Bibi Acquittal Fueling Push for ‘Rule of Law’ in Pakistan
Following Tuesday’s “definitive” acquittal of Asia Bibi, an illiterate Catholic mother of four who spent almost a decade on death row on blasphemy charges, one Asia expert says the next frontier for minorities in Pakistan is the press for full equality as citizens under the “rule of law.”