Francis’ final meeting for today,January 13, - the first day of his visit to Sri Lanka - was with representatives of religions: “We must be clear and unequivocal in challenging our communities to live fully the tenets of peace and coexistence found in each religion, and to denounce acts of violence when they are committed”.
The year 2014 is reminiscent of political and humanitarian events, as well as universal religious initiatives aimed at spreading the culture of love and dialogue in addition to continuing the sincere prayers for peace in the world.
Addressing the "religious issue" neither means, of course, delving into the private affairs of a certain religion by excluding the other, nor meddling in affairs relevant to interaction and harmony among religions or within the same religion and within the "community" itself.
Interview with the Holy Father: "The Gospel’s message is for everyone, the Gospel does not condemn the wealthy, but the idolatry of wealth, the idolatry that makes people indifferent to the call of the poor."
Here are the latest statistics relating to the composition of the College of Cardinals following the recent nominations: Of the 125 cardinals who have the right to vote in a future Conclave, 57 are European and 26 of these Italian
The meeting - scheduled some time ago - between French cardinal Tauran and the French Muslim spiritual leaders took place in the wake of the attack on Charlie Hebdo: “May the media offer information that is respectful of religions”.
In light of the horrific attack on Charlie Hebdo many are quoting Benedict XVI’s lecture against violence committed in the name of the faith. But they forget that the speech was a critique of modern reason - which dismisses religion as a subculture from within.
“Murderous violence can never be justified, the life and dignity of all must be guaranteed and protected with determination, any instigation of hatred must be rejected and respect for others must be fostered.”
Christians lived in Iraq for nearly 2,000 years, but the violent rise of the Islamic State has convinced many Christian refugees they must forever leave their homeland.
“No, we will never go back,” Taif Hanna, an engineer from Mosul, told reporters in Amman October 28.
“ISIS tried to kill us,” he said. The militant group offered three choices: Conversion to Islam, payment of an extortionate tax, or death.
“So we all fled Iraq,” Taif said.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you”: Suheila, an old Christian woman from Mosul was effusively expressing her gratitude as she met a delegation from the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). “May God make things easy for you in your lives.”
By the end of 2014, after initial successes on several fronts in both Iraq and Syria, ISIL forces began to be pushed back on several fronts. The most important factor in ISIL's retreat were the US-led air attacks. During the five months of air attacks that commenced in August ending on December 30, the coalition, according to Pentagon spokesman Navy Commander Bill Urban, "flew 13,232 combat missions and dropped 3,891 munitions."
