So it seems the Pope may be considering pulling together representatives of the three major Abrahamic religions to discuss why it’s not appropriate to kill others in the name of God. There’s a few problems I see right off and that seems to be who do you speak to as a representative of Islam who would have any say that would resonate with the Islamic world.
I could give a million reasons why something like this wouldn’t work but one must never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit in the cause of peace. Pray that if the Pope decides to do this, some good comes out of it.
UCA News reports:
Israeli government sources claim Francis is apparently thinking of calling a meeting between leaders and faithful of the world’s three biggest monotheistic religions, in Rome, to launch a message of peace, countering violence and the use of God’s name to justify hatred and terrorist acts.
The sources say the Pope announced his intentions during an Audience on April 30, but there was no mention of this in the communiqué the Holy See’s issued after the Audience.
President Shimon Peres of Israel “told the pope that there are people who use God’s name to justify terrorism” and religious leaders should “say out loud that God did not give anyone permission to kill their neighbor.”
According to the information contained in a summary of the Audience received by the Israeli government, Francis told Peres he “whole-heartedly supported” his appeal against violence and that “he wanted to promote a meeting between religious leaders and faithful of the three major religions” founded by Abraham, “in Rome”. The aim would be to “make people see” that the religions “oppose violence and terrorism.”
If these statements were indeed made during the Audience, it looks like the pope is thinking about possible peace initiatives that would be restricted to the world’s three major monotheistic faiths.
