For his first trip to the small kingdom of Bahrain, nestled in the Arabian Peninsula, the pope has multiplied the meetings. Above all, with King Hamad Ben Issa Al Khalifa, whom he saw twice for private talks, the content of which has not been disclosed. But also with religious authorities. Muslims, first of all, within the framework of his interreligious dialogue, in particular with Imam Al-Tayeb of the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, thanks to which Francis hopes to show the possibility of a life of ” peace “ between peoples. The official reason for the trip was, moreover, the address delivered on Friday, November 4, for the closing of the forum for dialogue between “East and West for human coexistence”, attended by leaders of many religions.
Christians, then. On his way to the Gulf, the sovereign pontiff also came to send a message to some 1.6 million people who identify with this faith in the various countries of the Arabian Peninsula. On Saturday, Francis presided over a mass in the Manama stadium attended by 30,000 people, mostly immigrant workers, including some from the neighboring kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
On the occasion of the Pope’s visit to the School of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic institution in Manama, some family members of political prisoners demonstrated, protest signs in their hands. But they were dispersed by the police without the sovereign pontiff having the opportunity to see them. The archipelago ruled by a Sunni monarch is regularly accused of human rights violations by NGOs, in particular against opponents from the Shiite community.
“The temptation to compromise”
During the traditional press conference held on the plane returning to Rome on Sunday, the pope avoided answering questions on hot topics in detail. Among them, that of the possibility of reviewing the rule of secrecy in the Church’s sanction procedures against priests who have committed sexual abuse. In France, the subject is particularly sensitive since the revelations of the measures taken against Michel Santier, former bishop of Créteil. The latter was convicted of sexual abuse of young men in the 1990s without anything coming to light.
This silence shook the Catholic community. Asked about the legitimacy of procedural secrecy, the pope evaded by recalling that “the problem of abuse has always existed, everywhere, not only in the Church”. While considering that the Church “advanced” on these issues, he acknowledged that it was not easy in an institution where transparency is far from being the rule. “We are doing our best, he defended, but there are people within the Church who don’t see things that way, it’s a procedure that we do with courage and we don’t all have courage. » And insist on “the temptation to compromise”.
You have 17.65% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.