 |
| (from Wikimedia Commons) |
While recently addressing an audience
of journalists, Pope Francis made what Reuters called "a gesture to non-believers
and members of other religions" with this
affirming statement: I told you I would
willingly give you a blessing. Since many
of you do not belong to the Catholic Church
and others are non-believers, from the bottom
of my heart I give this silent blessing to each
and every one of you, respecting the conscience
of each one of you but knowing that each one of
you is a child of God. May God bless all of you.
Always one to honor the essence of Gospel teachings,
he too showed great respect for those on paths that
differed from his own. Paul Moses, author of The
Saint and the Sultan, explained that from "early in
his ministry, Francis thirsted to reach out to Muslims."
First he tried traveling to Morocco, but "had to turn
back after reaching Spain." Another attempt "ended
in a storm on the Mediterranean." A third journey
finally resulted in a visit to Egypt, during which the
historic interfaith meeting between Saint Francis and
Sultan al-Kamil took place.
[Saint] Francis and the Sultan, the religious leaders…
[of today] need to recover what is best in their own
traditions… Leaders of the world's religions should
be prepared to risk being unpopular with segments
of their own people if that's what is needed to show
that religion must be a force for peace and harmony,
not violence and division.
that Saint Francis was "the man who gives us this spirit
of peace…"
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2011/10/27/guestview-st-francis-of-assisi-hero-of-interfaith-peace-during-the-crusades/
Copyright March 19, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment