Papi! These are mere kneejerk analogies. That is the problem with a faulty reading of Wren & Martin. :) But you took the opportunity to flesh out what you analyze as the Catholics in the UAE are thinking about, or have told you.
Venantius J Pinto <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> On Tue, Feb 5, 2019 at 11:37 PM Roland Francis <[email protected]> wrote: > Catholics in the UAE and surrounding Persian Gulf nations are all excited > about the visit of Pope Francis to Abu Dhabi. While the excitement is > understandable given the stature of the head of the Catholic Church, it > goes too far when the visit is compared to a similar visit by the current > pope’s patron St. Francis of Assisi crossing over to meet the Sultan of > Egypt during the wars of the Fifth Crusade, > > In my view this visit of Francis is nothing grandiose and on the scale of > what it is made out to be. Sure, it is a coup for the rulers of the UAE > since it puts them in the world news, a definite plus needed to boost their > credibility in their straitened financial condition and the upcoming Dubai > Expo 2020 which critics are already predicting to be a failure. If Pope > Francis is hoping for a change in the attitude towards the Christian Faith > being allowed to practice there, it’s not going to happen. They may be > liberal as compared to some of their neighbours but forget about a change > towards their prevailing faith policies. It’ll take more than a Pope for > that. > > So what do you think the Vatican bureaucracy thinks it can get from this > visit? Possibly a more generous collection from the faithful in a well > heeled tax free jurisdiction, but with expats fleeing the place in droves, > this expectation could be misplaced. Perhaps an example to Saudi Arabia, > the UAE’s current best friend and ally to liberalize its chokehold on > religious fanaticism. Not likely to happen either. Could it be a friendly > talk with Mohamed Bin Zayed about easing up on the slaughter of the > starving Yemenis or at least persuade his best friend MBS to discontinue > that policy. > > Who really knows. Just as historians will never know what transpired > between Francis of Assisi and the Sultan of Egypt 800 years ago to the > date, few will really know the true purpose of the current Pope’s visit. > One thing is sure. It has nothing to do about the two faiths or about > religion. > > In 1219, St. Francis crossed Crusade lines to meet Egypt's sultan. What > can we learn from their encounter? | America Magazine > > > https://www.americamagazine.org/arts-culture/2017/12/08/1219-st-francis-crossed-crusade-lines-meet-egypts-sultan-what-can-we-learn > > Roland. > Toronto. > >
