POPE MONITOR

IN BAHRAIN, THE POPE CALLS FOR FULL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, NO DEATH PENALTY

LOVE THE LORD BY LOVING THE POOR, POPE SAYS AT MASS

Commitments to protect tolerance and religious freedom need to be put into practice constantly so that these rights may be fully experienced, Pope Francis said during his visit to Bahrain.

This is important “so that religious freedom will be complete and not limited to freedom of worship; that equal dignity and equal opportunities will be concretely recognised for each group and every individual; that no forms of discrimination exist; and that fundamental human rights are not violated but promoted,” he said on November 3, addressing King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, other government authorities and diplomats serving in Bahrain.

The meeting with political and cultural leaders in the vast marble-paved courtyard of the royal family’s Sakhir Palace in Awali came shortly after the pope landed in Bahrain for his 39th international trip in his nearly 10-year papacy. He is the first pope to visit this archipelago nation in the Persian Gulf.

On his first day, he focused on addressing local authorities and diplomats, touching on both national and global concerns, and how everyone, especially governing leaders, must respond in ways that serve the common good.

“I am here,” he said, “as a sower of peace.”

He came to this Muslim-majority nation, whose residents are predominantly foreign workers from many parts of the world, to nurture a firmer commitment to human fraternity and peaceful coexistence.

People need to offer and embrace every opportunity for “encounter between civilizations, religions, and cultures,” he said. “Let us work together” to serve “togetheress and hope.”

The pope praised the many conferences and initiatives the Kingdom of Bahrain promotes for bringing people together on the themes of respect, tolerance, and religious freedom.

Wars, famine, and calamities of every kind can tempt Christians to a paralysing fear that the world is about to end; instead, they must act, even in a small way, to make the world a better place, Pope Francis has said.

Loved by God, “let us love his most discarded children. The Lord is there,” the pope said on November 13, celebrating Mass for the World Day of the Poor.

In Italian villages and other places, too, there is a tradition at Christmas to set an extra place at the table “for the Lord who will surely knock on the door in the person of someone who is poor and in need,” the pope said.

“And your heart, does it always have a free place for those people?” he asked those at Mass. “My heart, does it have a vacancy for those people? Or are we so busy with friends, social events, and obligations that we never have room for them?”

After Mass and the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Vatican set a place for 1,300 people to share a festive meal in the Vatican audience hall. Pope Francis joined them for lunch.

And, thanks to a donation from a supermarket chain, the Vatican sent 5,000 boxes of pasta, rice, flour, sugar, salt, coffee, milk, and oil to Rome parishes for distribution.

In addition, with the help of volunteer doctors, nurses, and technicians, the Vatican set up a free medical clinic in St Peter’s Square for the week, offering physical exams and blood tests to anyone in need. And, with the price of electricity more than doubling in Italy over the past year, the Vatican also was helping low-income families with their utility bills, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Vatican organiser of the world day.