4/11/2022–|Last updated: 4/11/202203:41 (Mecca)
Pope Francis called on Bahraini authorities to ensure that basic human rights are not violated at the start of his visit to the kingdom, which began on Thursday.
In a speech in the capital Manama, during his first visit to Bahrain, the Pope stressed the need to implement the commitments so that there is no discrimination and violations of human rights.
He also called for full religious freedoms, equality in dignity and opportunities for all. The 85-year-old Pope stressed his opposition to the death penalty, stressing the need to guarantee the right to life.
“I am thinking in particular of the right to life, a guarantee of this at all times, and also in relation to those who are punished and whose life cannot be ignored,” said the pope, referring to the death penalty.
Pope Francis previously arrived in the Kingdom of Bahrain on a 4-day visit to strengthen his efforts for dialogue with the Islamic world.
The Pope is expected to deliver his final speech at the Bahrain Forum for dialogue “East and West for human coexistence” today, Friday and will meet important Islamic leaders, led by Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, head of the Muslim Council of Elders, as well as leader of other religious groups.
The (Argentine) Pope will preside at Mass at the Bahrain National Stadium on Saturday morning, which is expected to attend about 28,000 Christians, 20,000 of whom reside in Bahrain, according to the priest of the Arab community in Bahrain, Father Charbel Fayyad.
The mass should be attended by Christians residing in neighboring Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.
