New York Times: Pope Francis’ Gulf Tour

Seeking warmer relations with the Muslim world, Pope Francis established interfaith dialogue during his historic trip to the United Arab Emirates, the sole oasis in the Middle East that provides a somewhat permissive environment for Christianity, allowing worship in private. The UAE has a million Catholics, about 10 percent of the population, many migrants. Jason Horowitz, writing for the New York Times, reports that the pope’s visit to Abu Dhabi isn’t without tension. The Vatican remains under fire due to lax response to the child sexual abuse allegations among the priesthood’s rank and file. Furthermore, Abu Dhabi, a rarity in the region for promoting interfaith tolerance, has allied itself with Saudi Arabia in the proxy war against Yemen, prolonging a crisis fueled by famine, disease outbreaks and displacement. Just before heading to the UAE, the Pope called for distribution of aid and other humanitarian responses in Yemen. He inherited a less than friendly relationship with the Muslim world from his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI. In a lecture, Benedict referred to a 14th century Byzantine emperor who had labeled Islam as “inhumane.” Benedict apologized, and Francis aims to be more circumspect. – YaleGlobal