Since his election in March 2013, Pope Francis has made dialogue with Islam a cornerstone of his papacy, traveling to several majority-Muslim nations, meeting with top Islamic leaders, and drawing careful public distinctions between genuine religion and extremist fundamentalism.
Seek to be guardians and builders of unity, reaching out to dialogue with others and living as brothers and sisters, Pope Francis told the Catholic faithful and their bishops and priests from throughout the Persian Gulf.
Everyone needs help to mature and to grow as a person of faith, Pope Francis told young people in Bahrain, so reach out to someone a bit older and wiser and don’t forget to pray.
A true love for the divine Creator means acting on behalf of his children who are neglected by the powerful: the poor, the unborn, the elderly, the infirm and migrants, Pope Francis told representatives of different religious faiths and international leaders.
Commitments to protect tolerance and religious freedom need to be put into practice constantly so that these rights may be fully experienced, Pope Francis said.
