Historical Background to Human Fraternity
The
tale of two journeys involves two popes. One traveled westward and the other eastward. It
starts thirteen years ago with Pope Benedict XVI and his apostolic journey to
Germany where he presented his now famous Regensburg Lecture in 2006 on Faith,
Reason and the University. In other
words, the lecture discusses the rationality of faith. Benedict XVI referred to an obscure 14th
century text concerning a dialogue
between the Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleogogus and an educated Persian on
the subject of Christianity and Islam. Forcefully,
the emperor says to his dialogue partner, "Show me just what Mohammed
brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman,
such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” The emperor goes on to say that it is not
necessary to resort to force, a whip, or any threat of death, adding no one can
claim to use violence because it is an order from God.
There
were of course a variety of responses to the Regensburg Lecture. These ranged from outright condemnation, a call
for the pope to apologize, defense of the pope, and an initiative to dialogue
with the pope. Pope
Benedict XVI himself did express his regret for the reactions in some
countries by his address at Regensburg, which was offensive to the sensibility
of Muslims. Among the more radical
reactions, it was reported that several
churches were attacked and burned in the West Bank and Gaza. There even were news reports that some groups
were calling for violence against Catholics, Christians, and even the pope
himself. However, one of the more
remarkable responses was a call for an inter-religious dialogue in the spirit
of intellectual exchange and a quest for mutual understanding. In 2007, a group of 38 Muslim religious
scholars and leaders wrote an Open
Letter to His Holiness PopeBenedict XVI in response to his Regensburg Lecture
demonstrating openness to dialogue. *
In
2010, the Synod
for the Middle East met to discuss the Catholic Church in the Middle
East. Before Pope Benedict XVI released
his post-synod letter on the meeting, several churches of Coptic Christians in
Alexandria were bombed. Pope Benedict
condemned the attack. In response, Al Azhar
University in Cairo, Egypt broke off diplomatic relations with the Holy See (though
later restored in 2016). When the
post-synod exhortation was released by the Vatican, entitled Ecclesia in
Medio Oriente (Church in the
Middle East), Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed and encouraged interreligious
dialogue among Christians, Jews, and Muslims as children of Abraham (secs. 19,
23, 25-28). Benedict XVI expressed
himself as follows:
May Jews,
Christians and Muslims find in other believers brothers and
sisters to be respected and loved, and in this way, beginning in their own
lands, give the beautiful witness of serenity and concord between the children
of Abraham. Rather than being exploited in endless conflicts which are
unjustifiable for authentic believers, the acknowledgment of one God – if lived
with a pure heart – can make a powerful contribution to peace in the region and
to respectful coexistence on the part of its peoples (Eccleisia in Medio Oriente 19).
In 2014, Ahmed al Tayyib, Grand Imam of Al
Azhar, established the Muslim
Council of Elders, which is based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It is an international organization of Muslim
scholars, experts, and dignitaries. The Council
of Elders would later have an important role in the meeting with Pope Francis
in Abu Dhabi and the signing of the document Human
Fraternity with Ahmed al Tayyib in February 2019. Before the signing of the document, there
were several meetings, conferences, and declarations between the years
2014-2019. For example, meetings took
place in Morocco,
Cairo,
Islamabad,
and the UAE.
Finally,
this brings us the second journey. Pope
Francis’ trip to the UAE February 3-5 was intended to be an encouragement to
Catholics living in the UAE and to be an engagement in inter-religious
dialogue. After thirteen years, the West finally met the East within a
tradition begun by his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, which stressed the
importance of the reasonability of faith, the importance of dialogue, and the
rejection of using faith as a pretense for violence and war.
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