EX-POPE TARGETS "FANATICAL FRIENDS" WHO
HAVE NOT ACCEPTED HIS RESIGNATION
Monday, March 1, 2021
HAVE NOT ACCEPTED HIS RESIGNATION
Monday, March 1, 2021
"There is Only One Pope," Benedict XVI.
Benedict XVI, in an interview in an Italian newspaper on Monday, March 1, 2021, said that some of his more “fanatical” followers have refused to accept his resignation and have fallen for “conspiracy theories.” In the interview he stated that his resignation was a conscious choice. Benedict then called for all Catholics to accept Pope Francis as the rightful and current pope. He added, “there is only one pope.” (see article).
POPE FRANCIS' TRIP TO IRAQ,
A MESSAGE OF INTERRELIGIOUS PEACE AND FRATERNITY
by John R. Connolly
March 22, 2021
A MESSAGE OF INTERRELIGIOUS PEACE AND FRATERNITY
by John R. Connolly
March 22, 2021
Iraq is the biblical land of Abraham. The God who was revealed to Abraham is the same God that Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe in today. Drawing upon Abraham as a symbol of unity and hope, Pope Francis, in his message to the people of Iraq, called for interreligious peace and fraternity. During his brief visit to Iraq from Friday, March 6 to Monday, March 8, Pope Francis travelled to a number of cities. These included Baghdad, Najaf, Ur, Erbil, Mosul, and Quaraqosh. Here are some of the highlights of the pope’s trip.
In Najaf on March 6, Pope Francis met with the Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to discuss Muslim-Christian relations in Iraq. Although there were about 1.4 million Christians living in Iraq in 2014, today the number has dwindled to approximately 300,000 as a result of persecutions by Isis and migration. At the meeting Francis urged a peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians. Al-Sistani “emphasized the importance of securing a peaceful and secure life for Iraqi Christians and protecting their constitutional rights.” From there, Pope Francis visited Ur, the birthplace of Abraham where, in his address, he decried those who use religion to justify hatred and violence. He condemned hostility, extremism, and violence as betrayals of religion. Believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion
.
Later that same day at a mass celebrated in the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Joseph in Baghdad Pope Francis urged Christians in Iraq to forgive, not give up, but to remain and rebuild their lives. He told them to avoid two temptations, flight and anger. Like Jesus, he urged them to pursue change through the humble power of love and patient witness.
On Sunday, March 7, Pope Francis visited the Iraqi Christian community in Qaragosh. Meeting with the members of the community Francis listened to their recollections of their sufferings during the persecutions, the destruction of their churches, and their struggles with poverty. In the face of all these injustices the pope spoke of one woman who asked for forgiveness for the persecutors. “I forgive”, she said, “I ask for forgiveness for them.”
After returning to Rome, Pope Francis, at his weekly Wednesday audience on March 10, summarized his message to the people of Iraq as one of peace and fraternity. “I saw the hope of being open to a horizon of peace and fraternity, summed up in Jesus’s words that were the motto of the Visit: You are all brothers” (Mt.23:8). “The response is not war, but the response is fraternity. This is the challenge not only for Iraq. It is the challenge for many regions in conflict, and ultimately, the challenge for the entire world is fraternity.” (“Read: Pope Francis on Finding Hope in the People of Iraq, “America Magazine, March 10, 2021). For a fuller summary of Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq see “Highlights of Pope Francis’s Historic Journey to Iraq,” Mike Lewis, March 8, 2021, Where Peter Is.
In Najaf on March 6, Pope Francis met with the Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to discuss Muslim-Christian relations in Iraq. Although there were about 1.4 million Christians living in Iraq in 2014, today the number has dwindled to approximately 300,000 as a result of persecutions by Isis and migration. At the meeting Francis urged a peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians. Al-Sistani “emphasized the importance of securing a peaceful and secure life for Iraqi Christians and protecting their constitutional rights.” From there, Pope Francis visited Ur, the birthplace of Abraham where, in his address, he decried those who use religion to justify hatred and violence. He condemned hostility, extremism, and violence as betrayals of religion. Believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion
.
Later that same day at a mass celebrated in the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Joseph in Baghdad Pope Francis urged Christians in Iraq to forgive, not give up, but to remain and rebuild their lives. He told them to avoid two temptations, flight and anger. Like Jesus, he urged them to pursue change through the humble power of love and patient witness.
On Sunday, March 7, Pope Francis visited the Iraqi Christian community in Qaragosh. Meeting with the members of the community Francis listened to their recollections of their sufferings during the persecutions, the destruction of their churches, and their struggles with poverty. In the face of all these injustices the pope spoke of one woman who asked for forgiveness for the persecutors. “I forgive”, she said, “I ask for forgiveness for them.”
After returning to Rome, Pope Francis, at his weekly Wednesday audience on March 10, summarized his message to the people of Iraq as one of peace and fraternity. “I saw the hope of being open to a horizon of peace and fraternity, summed up in Jesus’s words that were the motto of the Visit: You are all brothers” (Mt.23:8). “The response is not war, but the response is fraternity. This is the challenge not only for Iraq. It is the challenge for many regions in conflict, and ultimately, the challenge for the entire world is fraternity.” (“Read: Pope Francis on Finding Hope in the People of Iraq, “America Magazine, March 10, 2021). For a fuller summary of Pope Francis’ trip to Iraq see “Highlights of Pope Francis’s Historic Journey to Iraq,” Mike Lewis, March 8, 2021, Where Peter Is.