So this is what it looks like when a Hen invites a Fox into the Hen-house...

[superbeets]

[h=1]Pope embraces grand imam at historic Vatican meeting in a bid to bring the Catholic and Muslim churches together[/h]

• Pope Francis today reopened dialogue with the grand imam of Al-Azhar
• Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib today visited the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican
• The pair spoke privately for 25 minutes in Pope Francis's private library
• Amid increased attacks on Christians, the meeting is hugely significant

By COREY CHARLTON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 16:02, 23 May 2016 | UPDATED: 17:58, 23 May 2016



Pope Francis today embraced the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the prestigious Sunni Muslim center of learning, in an historic bid to reopen dialogue between the two churches.
At a time of increased Islamic extremist attacks on Christians, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib was photographed hugging Francis during a visit to the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.
Reopening channels for communication after a five-year lull, Francis described the meeting as hugely significant.



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[superbeets]

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Pope Francis chats with Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib, the grand imam of the Sunni Muslim center of learning, during the pair's historic meeting at the Vatican today

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The meeting is considered hugely significant given relations between the two churches had frozen over the past five years

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Pope Francis said the two churches needed to show a common commitment to peace in the world. The meeting comes amid increasing Islamic extremist attacks on Christians, particularly in the Middle East

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The pair also discussed the rejection of violence and extremism, and the plight of Christians, the Vatican said

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Dialogue between the two churches ended under the reign of Francis's predecessor, Pope Benedict, when he quoted a Byzantine emperor as saying some of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings were 'evil and inhuman'

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Pope Francis and el-Tayyib share a joke during their historic 25 minute meeting at the Vatican today

Francis told the imam: 'The meeting is the message.'
It comes five years after the Cairo-based Al-Azhar froze talks with the Vatican to protest comments by then-Pope Benedict XVI.
Benedict had demanded greater protection for Christians in Egypt after a New Year's bombing on a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria killed 21 people.


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[superbeets]

Since then, Islamic attacks on Christians in the region have only increased, but the Vatican and Al-Azhar nevertheless sought to rekindle ties, with a Vatican delegation visiting Cairo in February and extending the invitation for el-Tayyib to visit.
Francis and el-Tayyib spoke privately for 25 minutes in the pope's private library, bidding each other farewell with an embrace.
El-Tayyib and his delegation then had talks with the Vatican cardinal in charge of inter-religious dialogue.
The Vatican said the meeting held a 'great significance' for Catholic-Muslim dialogue.
In a statement, spokesman the Reverend Federico Lombardi said Francis and el-Tayyib discussed the need for 'authorities and the faithful of the world's great religions to show a common commitment to peace in the world'.
They also discussed the rejection of violence and extremism, and the plight of Christians 'in the context of conflicts and tensions in the Mideast and their protection,' the statement said.
After the audience, el-Tayyib travels to Paris to open a Muslim-Catholic conference on East-West relations.


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Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran (centre) embraces el-Tayyib upon his arrival to the Vatican in Rome today

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During his reign, Pope Francis has attempted to improve relations with Islam - despite growing levels of extremist violence towards Christians

The Vatican's relations with Islam hit several bumps during Benedict's papacy. He outraged Muslims with a 2006 speech quoting a Byzantine emperor as saying some of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings were 'evil and inhuman'.
The subsequent suspension of talks with Al-Azhar institutionalized the bad blood.
El-Tayyib, however, sent a message of congratulations to Francis upon his 2013 election and said he hoped for renewed cooperation.
Francis responded, and has made clear over the course of his three-year pontificate that relations with Islam are a top priority.
In a recent interview with the French Catholic newspaper La Croix, Francis took a conciliatory line toward Islam, saying 'I sometimes dread the tone' when people refer to Europe's 'Christian' roots.
'It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam,' he said.
But he added that Christianity, too, had its 'triumphalist' undertones. 'It is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest.'
He added that when looking to the causes of Islamic extremism, it is better to 'question ourselves about the way in an overly Western model of democracy has been exported'.


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[superbeets]

This pope is not really a pope He is a radical leftist in priests garments

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[ScottL]

This pope is not really a pope He is a radical leftist in priests garments

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What matters is whether the imam supports peace or violent jihad. Assuming (wishing) he is a moderate, then the next important thing is how much influence does he carry with the people he represents.

 

[Michelangelo]

I've often thought that there is no central authority in the Muslim world and that this fact is the most preclusive barrier to peace with other religions and within the Muslim community itself.