Pope Francis has been officially invited to visit the Kingdom of Bahrain by King Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa.
Newsroom (28/11/2021 3:00 PM Gaudium Press)The king’s invitation was brought to the Pope by Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, the King’s adviser on diplomatic affairs, who was received at the Vatican on Thursday November 25 by both the Pope and Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, to whom he brought the invitation.
During the visit to the Vatican, the envoy of the Bahraini monarch also conveyed greetings to the Pope, who “played the fundamental and pre-eminent role that Pope Francis played in creating and promoting interreligious dialogue and understanding between different cultures and civilizations, as well as in the spreading the values of human brotherhood and coexistence of all”.
The monarch endorsed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together – which was signed on February 4, 2019 in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, and is convinced that on the basis of the principles contained therein, attempts could be made to build “a more prosperous future for all humanity”. The official Bahraini news agency also reports the Pope’s “sincere thanks” to the monarch of Bahrain for “the kind invitation to visit the kingdom he loves and cherishes,” as it is a “model of openness and coexistence between its various social components”.
The Pope – as stated in the official Bahraini report – also expressed his appreciation “for the wisdom of His Majesty King Hamed and his constant concern for the promotion of the culture of dialogue and tolerance” and praised his initiatives “aimed at consolidating and to spread the principles of coexistence and fraternity among all countries and peoples“.
