Pope and Saudi king to hold landmark meeting
Roman Catholic head Pope Benedict will meet Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah next week for talks expected to centre on Christian-Islam relations, the Vatican said on Wednesday.
by Daniel Blake and agencies
Posted: Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 17:06 (GMT)
Roman Catholic head Pope Benedict will meet Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah next week for talks expected to centre on Christian-Islam relations, the Vatican said on Wednesday.
The first talks between a Saudi monarch and a pope will take place on Tuesday. The king, currently in Britain, will be in Italy to meet government officials.
The Vatican does not have formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and relations have been strained. The Vatican has often called for greater rights for the small Christian minority there.
The Christians, mostly guest workers, are not allowed to practice their faith in public, the Vatican says.
Abdullah is custodian of the mosques in the Saudi cities of Mecca and Medina, sites of pilgrimages by millions of Muslims every year.
Muslims around the world protested last year after Benedict, speaking at a university in his native Germany, used a quote that associated Islam with violence. He said he was misunderstood and later expressed his esteem for Muslims.
King Abdullah is currently on a state visit to Britain, and met Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday.
However, the King's visit also sparked protests from activists against Saudi Arabia's human rights record.
The Saudi leader has already sparked a degree of controversy earlier this week when, in an interview to BBC, he said Saudi Arabia passed on to Britain information that might have helped avert the July 2005 bombings that killed 52 people.
He accused London of failing to do enough to combat terrorism, saying: "We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain, but unfortunately no action was taken and it may have been able to maybe avert the tragedy."
However, reports also quoted a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown as saying that no warnings were received before the July 7 attacks: "We made it very clear at the time that no specific warnings were received from any source."
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Added: Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 22:16 (GMT)
The chasm between Christians and Muslims reminds me with that was between the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus stood in the gab between the two. Today, we need the same Jesus to fulfill his promise when he said, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16, NIV).
I think it is very fitting to bring into the remembrance of all the meeting of St. Peter in the house of Cornelius. Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord [Master] of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God [Yahweh, the Father, Allah] anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen — by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:34-43, NIV).
This is my message to all Christians and Muslims, with all my love. Please read it again carefully and forward it to others.
Biblical Orthodox
www.biblicalorthodox.net
Biblical Orthodox, East Brunswick
