Vatican Roundup

Call for Islamic leaders to speak up for peace

The president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences has urged Muslim leaders who insist their faith is one of peace to make their voices heard over those of hatred and violence who claim to be inspired by the Koran.

Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo said that while the vast majority of the world’s Muslims were peaceful and rejected the messages transmitted by groups such as so-called Islamic State and Boko Haram, “it would be naive to pretend that there are not certain episodes in the Koran and the Hadith that may lend themselves to a violent interpretation”.

While insisting that “I wouldn’t dream of telling Muslims how to interpret their faith”, Bishop Sorondo nevertheless added that those within Islam who wished “to give a peaceful hermeneutic to these passages…will find a strong ally and friend in the Catholic Church, ready to accompany on the way”.

Referring to the recent message from Pope Francis that recent examples of militant Islam were based on the interpretations of a few within that faith, Bishop Sorondo pointed out that the extremists preach “in the face of the billion other adherents of Islam who testify to a tolerant religion which does not recognise the legitimacy of the actions of these few wicked individuals”, and who are frequently victims themselves of the violence perpetrated by the extremists.

“It therefore falls upon all leaders of moral authority in these times to do all they can to calm an increasingly tense situation – made all the more tense by the actions of the few,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has said that peace-loving Christians and Muslims must prove wrong the terrorists who believe that the communities cannot exist together. Reflecting on the killing of French priest Fr Jacques Hamel, Cardinal Tauran wrote in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano: “By killing Father Jacques, those who conceived of this despicable act had one precise goal: to demonstrate that peaceful coexistence among Muslims and Christians is impossible,” Cardinal Tauran said. “

Pope calls for Church of ‘missionary zeal’

Pope Francis has spoken of his vision of a Church of missionaries with fire in their hearts. As is the Pope’s frequent practice, he departed from the prepared script of his Sunday address to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square to warn that the Church must never “be held back through fear and calculation, to not get used to walking within safe boundaries”. To do so, he said, was a path to the Church “becoming an administrative or bureaucratic Church that never takes risks”.

Referring to the “apostolic courage that the Holy Spirt ignites in us like a fire”, he said there are still clergy, consecrated and lay people worldwide who proclaim the Gospel even at the threat of death.

Pope Francis hosts lunch for Syrian refugees

Pope Francis has hosted a special lunch at the Vatican for Syrian refugees he brought from the Greek island of Lesbos last April.

The event, held at the Casa Santa Marta on August 11, provided the Pontiff with an opportunity to hear how the Syrians are adapting to life in Italy. All of those invited to attend the event are being assisted in their new lives by the St Egidio Community in Rome.

During the lunch, Pope Francis was presented with drawings from children, while he surprised his younger guests with toys and other gifts.