Monday, May 26, 2014

Pope to Mufti: "No Violence!"

When the Pope visited the Temple Mount --- by the way, Jordan's King Abdallah's cousin and occasional royal regent, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, was there



representing the status of the Hashemites as the patrons of the holy shrines in Jerusalem --- he spoke with the anti-Semitic Mufti.

I had envisioned this exchange:




but it seems he has been quoted


Francis deviated from his prepared remarks to refer not just to his “dear friends” but “dear brothers.” “May we respect and love one another as brothers and sisters!” he said. “May we learn to understand the suffering of others! May no one abuse the name of God through violence!”

Now, if he had said "I have been given permission to conduct a Mass at the Cenacle, despite the protests, so why not you allow Jews to pray here on the Temple Mount?", that would have been dandy.

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UPDATE

Pope Francis on Monday called for people of all faiths to have access to often hotly-contested sacred sites in Jerusalem, on the final day of his whirlwind Middle East trip.
Francis, who has made interfaith dialogue a cornerstone of his papacy, said believers must be able to pray freely at sites currently contested by Jews, Muslims, and Christians...Francis made an early-morning tour of the holiest sites in Jerusalem's walled Old City, issuing a call for the three religions to "work together for justice and peace" as he was shown around the Al-Aqsa compound, the third holiest site in Islam which Jews also consider sacred.

and this, too:

During a meeting between the Pope and Israeli President Shimon Peres, the Pope expressed his hope for Jerusalem to truly be the City of Peace, “how good it is when pilgrims and residents can enjoy free access to the Holy Places and can freely take part in the religious celebrations.”

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P.S.  A JPost writer misses the significance of Prince Ghazi.

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