SW News: On the second day of his Apostolic Visit to Bahrain, Pope Francis gave an address during the conclusion of the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue in the Al Fida Square of the Sakhir Royal Palace in the capital Manama. Addressing the scores of religious leaders who had gathered from around the globe on Friday, November 4, the Supreme Head of one billion Catholics said that spiritual leaders must set a good example and commit themselves to encourage and assist the wounded and war-torn humanity.

The address was one of the key agendas in the 39th Apostolic Visit of the pope. We are here together because we all intend to set sail on the same waters, choosing the route of encounter rather than that of confrontation, the path of dialogue indicated by the title of this Forum: “East and West for Human Coexistence”, said the pontiff.

Pope Francis said that they are all gathered in Bahrain as men and women who believe in God and he added that they should reject what he termed “isolating thinking” that “tends to overlook the great sea of humanity”.

He also warned that conflicts across the world should not make them lose sight of the tragedies that plague the human family such as inequality, hunger, climate change and injustice. “After two terrible World Wars, a Cold War that for decades kept the world in suspense, catastrophic conflicts taking place in every part of the globe, and in the midst of accusations, threats and condemnations, we continue to find ourselves on the brink of a delicate precipice and we do not want to fall,” he reminded the attendees.

“We have a specific role to play ... It is our duty to encourage and assist our human family, interdependent yet at the same time disconnected, to sail the sea together.”

The Holy Father also made a mention of the Bahrain Declaration, saying “God instructs us to exercise the divine gift of freedom of choice”. Therefore, “compelled religion cannot bring a person into a meaningful relationship with God”, he said. The pontiff said that God does not tolerate any form of religious coercion as He did not hand over the world to slaves but to free beings.

In this context, he reminded the gathering that it is not enough to tom-tom that a religion is peaceful. “We need to condemn and isolate the perpetrators of violence who abuse its name. Nor is it enough to distance ourselves from intolerance and extremism, we need to counter them,” he said.

The Holy Father was given a ceremonial red-carpet welcome at the venue by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa who was accompanied by the Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al Azhar Ahmed El Tayeb. The papal entourage also took part in the forum along with delegates from the Greek and Coptic Orthodox Churches and the Orthodox Church of India.