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Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, speak at a United Nations gathering about the need of “human fraternity.”

Pope Francis and a major Sunni imam both called for peace at the United Nations Security Council in New York, where the topic was “human fraternity.”

The pope, who is recuperating from abdominal surgery, addressed a message to the United Nations assembly on Wednesday, saying that a third world war is being fought “piecemeal” and that mankind is suffering from a “famine of fraternity.”

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar, Cairo’s 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni learning, stated in a virtual briefing to the UN Security Council that human brotherhood was the key to world peace, a message he and Pope Francis emphasised in a joint paper issued in 2019.

“In our day, with nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, the battlefield has become practically unlimited, with potentially catastrophic consequences,” the pope said in a statement read by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states and international organisations.

“The time has come to say an emphatic “no” to war, to declare that wars are not just, but only peace is just,” the pontiff said in a statement.

Without identifying Russia or Ukraine, the grand imam stated that the war raging on Europe’s eastern frontiers has instilled anxiety and “concern that it may regress humanity to a primitive era.”

“Our gathering today is not a luxury, but a necessity, dictated by concern for the future of humanity,” al-Tayeb stated.

According to the grand imam, political leaders must pursue the goal embraced by Al-Azhar and the Roman Catholic Church in the 2019 manifesto on human brotherhood for world peace.

Following the pope’s and grand imam’s pleas, as well as council addresses, members endorsed a resolution acknowledging that hate speech, racism, xenophobia, intolerance, gender discrimination, and acts of extremism “can contribute to the outbreak, escalation, and recurrence of conflict.”

The resolution, co-sponsored by the UAE and the United Kingdom, was unanimously accepted, despite the fact that several of the council’s 15 members had been accused of some of the same crimes they denounced.

After the voting, UAE Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh told The Associated Press that it was a “landmark” resolution that brought together prior council decisions tackling hate speech, racism, incitement, and extremism in various ways for the first time.

According to Nusseibeh, it fosters tolerance, equality, cohabitation, and conversation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the pope and grand imam’s proclamation as “a model for compassion and human solidarity,” urging governments and people throughout the world to “stand together as one human family” and create “an alliance of peace, rooted in the values of human fraternity.”

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The social media activities of Pope have come under dark cloud, as it has been found that a photo of a scantily clad Brazilian model was liked from the official account of the Pope.

The revelation has put the social media activities of the Pope under dark cloud.

The Vatican has not yet publicly commended about the development.

The Church city has launched a thorough investigation into this matter.

Actually, the activity came to the notice of media house when the photo was unliked by the official account of the Pope.   

The development has triggered a serious conversation around the subject. The matter has also emerged in several social media platforms.

There is a suspicion that the official account of the Pope was hacked.

It needs a detailed investigation to bring out the truth.

It is unfortunate that the Holy See has come under the cloud of this kind of allegation.

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Retired Pope Benedict XVI has strongly opposed the, so called, plan of Pope Francis to ease the celibacy rules of the Church.

It is unusual for a retired Pope to comment about the clerical matters of the Church. Not any time before the retired Pope has come out strongly against Pope Francis.

Notably, a book co-authored by the retired Pope is used to launch an indirect attack against the new plan of the serving Pope.

Neither the serving Pope not the Vatican authority has commented yet about the argument projected against the Pope’s latest celibacy policy by the former leader of the Church.

In the coming days, the latest development is likely to trigger more serious debates about whether the celibacy laws of the Church should be relaxed or not.

It is possible for the issue to make a deep divide.

Pope Francis is not likely to make a direct comment against the argument raised by the former Pope in defence of the existing celibacy laws of the Church.

The present Pope is known for his revolutionary policies. Since his induction, he has already brought several significant changes in the Church.

His reputation as a revolutionary leader means the chances are less for him to step back from the new revolutionary policy.


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Pope Francis has started a three day visit to the countries Bulgaria and North Macedonia. His visits aimed at improving relations with the Orthodox Church.

On arriving, Pope was greeted by Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov. Borissov said about Pope’s visit as, “it reflects his interest in the peaceful economic development of the Balkans”.

During his visit, Pope urged the Bulgarians to change their attitude towards migrants. The Orthodox leaders said they would not take part in joint services or prayers with the Pope.

Pope said, “To all Bulgarians, who are familiar with the drama of emigration, I respectfully suggest that you not close your eyes, your hearts or your hands — in accordance with your best tradition — to those who knock at your door”.

“Bulgaria faces the effects of the emigration in recent decades of over two million of her citizens in search of new opportunities for employment,” he said, adding that this had “led to the depopulation and abandonment of many villages and cities”, he added.

The Vatican has been trying for the unity between the two branches of Christianity, which split in 1054. During his three day tour, Pope is also visiting a refugee camp on the outskirts of Sofia and a commemoration of Mother Teresa, the most famous native of the Macedonian capital Skopje.

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“Our work has made us realise once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” said Pope Francis on Sunday. “I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites,” he added.

Pope was speaking at the close of the summit of the church’s top bishops and leaders. The summit aimed at how to deal with the priests, who are sexually abusing children and adults for years. The sex abuse survivors and members of ECA (Ending Clergy Abuse), held banners in front of St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Feb. 24, 2019.

Bishops would now review and strengthen their guidelines to prevent abuse and punish perpetrators, Pope said. He also said that the child sexual abuse was a universal problem – “a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies”.

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“I am happy… to write on your dear land a new page in the relations between religions, confirming that we are brothers although different,”  says Pope Francis regarding his upcoming UAE Visit. Pope will be visiting UAE from February 3rd to 5th, to attend an International Interfaith Meeting on ‘Human Fraternity’. According to reports, Pope described the UAE as a “country that is striving to be a model for co-existence, human fraternity, and meeting of faiths and civilisations”.

” True wealth lies not just in material possibilities. The real wealth of a nation is the individuals who hear the sound of their future.” – Pope Francis

Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit the Arabian peninsula. He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces for inviting him to the UAE. He also extended his gratitude to the UAE authorities for their excellent cooperation, great hospitality and brotherly welcome.

Sunaya Paison
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Pope Francis has launched the Click to Pray app, that allows the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics to join him in prayer. It has a website and a mobile app, both for Android and iOS.

“Internet and the social networks are a resource of our time, a way to stay in touch with others, to share values and projects, and to express the desire to form a community,” – Pope Francis

Thousands of people witnessed the moment on Sunday at the St. Peter’s Square. After swiping on the tablet, Pope turned to his assistant and asked “Did I do it?” The app is available in six languages as Spanish, English, Italian, French, Portuguese, and German. The app has been launched ahead of World Youth Day 2019.

Sunaya Paison
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