Egypt: Pope Francis Makes an Impact

[BarbTherese]

"Egypt is suffering unrest after the pope’s visit"

HERE

Excerpt only........

.......".............Let us hope that Muslims will now take advantage of this occasion and this support that the Church is offering them. I stayed in Egypt for a few days afterwards, and I saw the great impression that this visit made on the whole country. Everyone was surprised, and they realized that something new had happened.

The Christians were happy; certainly, the pope’s visit was a great consolation for all the baptized in the Middle East.

The Muslims were also pleased, because the pope took huge steps forward with gestures they hadn’t even dreamed of, such as when he embraced Great Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb and called him “brother.”

Consequently, as Patriarch Sako said, the doors are open, and we are all called to ensure that they don’t close again.

We talk constantly about dialogue and mercy, but the world is full of insecurity and hostility. Does it all depend on education?............"..............

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My comment: I think that education is important for one only........but nothing whatsoever will be accomplished without prayer on which everything depends insofar as we are concerned.

"The pope asked that religion and violence be separated. However, there is a kind of violence that uses the name of religion to perpetuate itself."    In order to separate the latter, we also need to look at the language we use in the media and which then flows into every day life and common use.  For example, the noun "terrorist" has for those who are quite literally murderers and mass murderers a sort of deluded 'glory' attached to it where some are concerned : See thread HERE

"Since the disastrous war against Iraq in 2004, there has been an unceasing process of destabilization and destruction—both material and cultural—of entire countries. It is an endless tragedy." I recall reading in Time magazine quite some years ago now that the reason the United States left Saddam Hussein in Iraq was because it was felt that any move against him might destabilize the whole middle east - there was concern about who might replace him.  Indeed! look at the mess we now have on our hands.  The vacuum after Saddam Hussein was executed has been filled by religious factional civil war and then those using religion to perpetuate itself i.e. mass murderers.

The bulk of the article is political commentary and beyond my abilities - but I am able to pray.  Other members might be more informed re the political commentary.