- Joined
- Mar 11, 2013
- Messages
- 13,076
- Points
- 113
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/kafir-pope-to-beg-top-shiite-to-sign-pact
VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) – Iraq’s top prelate is persuading Pope Francis to sign an interfaith covenant with Shia Islam’s top cleric, similar to the human fraternity declaration the pontiff ratified with the global leader of Sunni Muslims in Abu Dhabi 2019.
“It is a desire we share with the Shiite [Muslims],” Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans Louis Raphaël Sako said in light of the pope’s forthcoming trip to Iraq, confirming the meeting between Francis and Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani in Najaf on March 6.
“I insisted a lot that the pope sign a text similar to the Document on Human Fraternity, but I am not sure that it will be done,” revealed Cdl. Sako at a press conference organized by the L’ Oeuvre d’Orient Thursday.
“The pope has already met [Grand Imam Ahmad] al-Tayyeb, the highest Sunni authority, and I think it is very important that he can also meet that of the Shiites and act as a bridge between Shia and Sunni,” said Sako, noting that Francis’ intra-Islamic bridge-building could “have a huge impact at the international level on peaceful coexistence and dialogue.”
“The document on human brotherhood for world peace and common coexistence is a universal text, and it will not be necessary to change it,” the prelate stressed.
Brother Amir Jajé, an Iraqi Dominican expert on Shiite relations and a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, expressed hope al-Sistani would sign the covenant.
“It is well-known that there is not only Christian-Sunni dialogue, but there is also Shiite-Christian dialogue,” observed Fr. Rif’at Bader, director of the Jordan-based Catholic Center for Studies and Media. Pope Francis wants “to promote dialogue and common living between all the religious components.”
The Pope’s ‘Fools’ Errand’
But distinguished Islamic historian Robert Spencer told Church Militant that Pope Francis is on a fool’s errand and that “Francis’ mission, whatever purpose that he thinks it is going to serve, is pointless.”
“If Francis or Iraqi clerics think that the pope can achieve reconciliation between Sunnis and Shia by bringing al-Sistani together with his friend al-Tayyeb of al-Azhar, he drastically underestimates the theological contempt Islam inculcates for Christians and Christianity,” Spencer remarked.
“Al-Sistani may be using the pope to reinforce the image of moderation he gained in the international media in the early 2000s. But Francis will get nothing out of it besides a photo-op of dubious value,” said Spencer, author of over 21 books on Islam and the Middle East.
As for the persecuted Christians of Iraq, Spencer adds, “Francis is neither going to request, nor would al-Sistani grant, any aid or protection to these believers who have suffered savage persecution.”
Spencer emphasized that the Muslim-Christian dialogue with al-Tayyeb, “has not saved one Christian from being persecuted or kept one church from being destroyed, or caused one jihadi to lay down his arms. This meeting will not change that.”…
VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) – Iraq’s top prelate is persuading Pope Francis to sign an interfaith covenant with Shia Islam’s top cleric, similar to the human fraternity declaration the pontiff ratified with the global leader of Sunni Muslims in Abu Dhabi 2019.
“It is a desire we share with the Shiite [Muslims],” Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans Louis Raphaël Sako said in light of the pope’s forthcoming trip to Iraq, confirming the meeting between Francis and Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani in Najaf on March 6.
“I insisted a lot that the pope sign a text similar to the Document on Human Fraternity, but I am not sure that it will be done,” revealed Cdl. Sako at a press conference organized by the L’ Oeuvre d’Orient Thursday.
“The pope has already met [Grand Imam Ahmad] al-Tayyeb, the highest Sunni authority, and I think it is very important that he can also meet that of the Shiites and act as a bridge between Shia and Sunni,” said Sako, noting that Francis’ intra-Islamic bridge-building could “have a huge impact at the international level on peaceful coexistence and dialogue.”
“The document on human brotherhood for world peace and common coexistence is a universal text, and it will not be necessary to change it,” the prelate stressed.
Brother Amir Jajé, an Iraqi Dominican expert on Shiite relations and a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, expressed hope al-Sistani would sign the covenant.
“It is well-known that there is not only Christian-Sunni dialogue, but there is also Shiite-Christian dialogue,” observed Fr. Rif’at Bader, director of the Jordan-based Catholic Center for Studies and Media. Pope Francis wants “to promote dialogue and common living between all the religious components.”
The Pope’s ‘Fools’ Errand’
But distinguished Islamic historian Robert Spencer told Church Militant that Pope Francis is on a fool’s errand and that “Francis’ mission, whatever purpose that he thinks it is going to serve, is pointless.”
“If Francis or Iraqi clerics think that the pope can achieve reconciliation between Sunnis and Shia by bringing al-Sistani together with his friend al-Tayyeb of al-Azhar, he drastically underestimates the theological contempt Islam inculcates for Christians and Christianity,” Spencer remarked.
“Al-Sistani may be using the pope to reinforce the image of moderation he gained in the international media in the early 2000s. But Francis will get nothing out of it besides a photo-op of dubious value,” said Spencer, author of over 21 books on Islam and the Middle East.
As for the persecuted Christians of Iraq, Spencer adds, “Francis is neither going to request, nor would al-Sistani grant, any aid or protection to these believers who have suffered savage persecution.”
Spencer emphasized that the Muslim-Christian dialogue with al-Tayyeb, “has not saved one Christian from being persecuted or kept one church from being destroyed, or caused one jihadi to lay down his arms. This meeting will not change that.”…
