Interreligious dialogue

Pope Francis paid tribute to Iraqi Christians martyred in recent times by extremists purporting to act in the name of Islam.

Two Vatican offices, marking the 30th anniversary of the document May 19, hosted a webinar that looked at the ongoing challenges of meaningful and respectful dialogue in situations of conflict and where “identity” and nationalism are obsessions — leading to what one participant described as “Babel vs. Pentecost.”

Pope Francis and Antonio Guterres, the U.N. chief, recorded an eight-minute video giving thanks for all the good in the world.

Pope Francis welcomed Abu Dhabi’s formation of an international committee to implement the “Document for Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” which he and Sheik el-Tayeb signed in the country in February.

Pope Francis sent Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, to Damietta in early March as his official representative at celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the meeting of St. Francis and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil in 1219.

At a Feb. 28 audience marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Bea, Pope Francis called him a “model and source of inspiration for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.”

The essays in this excellent book are written by scholars from the Americas and Europe, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims, reflecting on interreligious dialogue in our time and honor one of the great theologians of social ethics and pioneers of Catholic-Jewish relations.

Arriving in Bangladesh from Myanmar Nov. 30, Pope Francis wasted no time in mentioning the plight of the refugees who have been a source of concern for him for more than two years.