Religion News March 6, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Speaking on Saturday (March 6) before the monumental remains of Ur, the once-great city where Muslims, Jews and Christians believe their common spiritual forefather Abraham first heard the voice of God, Pope Francis condemned religious hatred and mapped a path to peaceful coexistence among different faiths.
“Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart; they are betrayals of religion,” the pope told a crowd of roughly 100 leaders of the three faiths gathered near the historic site on his second day in Iraq. “We believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion; indeed, we are called unambiguously to dispel all misunderstandings.
“Let us not allow the light of heaven to be overshadowed by the clouds of hatred!” he added.
The pope’s visit to Ur has been a much anticipated moment in his three-day apostolic visit to Iraq, the first by any pope. The day marked other papal firsts, including the first-ever encounter between a Roman pontiff and a Shiite religious leader and the first Chaldean Mass celebrated by a Roman Catholic pope.
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