Bishop Paul Hinder: Pope’s visit to Bahrain confirms his interest in Arabian Gulf November 2, 2022 Archbishop Paul Hender: The Pope’s visit to Bahrain confirms his interest in the Arabian Gulf<br /> 02 November 2022 Creation time: 03:00 PM Last update: 03:00 PM Views: 89 Vatican, November 2 (BNA) His Holiness Pope Francis will arrive in Bahrain tomorrow, Thursday, on an official visit, at the invitation of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The papal visit to the kingdom continues until Sunday. The Director of the Apostolic Vicariate for Northern Arabia, Archbishop Paul Hender, affirmed that the historic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Bahrain confirms his interest in the Arabian Gulf region. “The Pope’s Apostolic Journey is a visit to the Church in the entire Gulf region,” the bishop said in a statement to the Vatican News. He added that “about 80,000 Catholics live in Bahrain, most of them are migrant workers.” In response to a question about the purpose of the Pope’s historic visit to Bahrain in particular, Bishop Hinder said that the Bahrain government has always maintained a “good relationship” with various churches and Christians. While in Bahrain, he said, “Pope Francis will find a multinational, multilingual church and a country with a culture very open to foreigners.” He said that Pope Francis’ thirty-ninth apostolic trip abroad is the second to the region after his visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2018 to support interfaith dialogue. Bishop Hinder identified two main objectives of the papal visit to Bahrain. The first is to “certainly maintain and deepen interfaith dialogue with Muslims”, and the second is to “encourage the flock of Catholics and Christians in general, and especially Catholics who live in this special situation.” He added that Catholics from neighboring countries will also participate in the public events of Pope Francis in Bahrain. The 80-year-old bishop has indicated that as he nears retirement, he considers the papal visit a kind of fulfillment of his ministry. It was “kind of the climax of my life here in the Arabian Peninsula,” he said. FSN Source link Related READ MORE Nasser AI Research and Development Centre holds third meeting
02 November 2022 Creation time: 03:00 PM Last update: 03:00 PM Views: 89 Vatican, November 2 (BNA) His Holiness Pope Francis will arrive in Bahrain tomorrow, Thursday, on an official visit, at the invitation of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The papal visit to the kingdom continues until Sunday. The Director of the Apostolic Vicariate for Northern Arabia, Archbishop Paul Hender, affirmed that the historic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Bahrain confirms his interest in the Arabian Gulf region. “The Pope’s Apostolic Journey is a visit to the Church in the entire Gulf region,” the bishop said in a statement to the Vatican News. He added that “about 80,000 Catholics live in Bahrain, most of them are migrant workers.” In response to a question about the purpose of the Pope’s historic visit to Bahrain in particular, Bishop Hinder said that the Bahrain government has always maintained a “good relationship” with various churches and Christians. While in Bahrain, he said, “Pope Francis will find a multinational, multilingual church and a country with a culture very open to foreigners.” He said that Pope Francis’ thirty-ninth apostolic trip abroad is the second to the region after his visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2018 to support interfaith dialogue. Bishop Hinder identified two main objectives of the papal visit to Bahrain. The first is to “certainly maintain and deepen interfaith dialogue with Muslims”, and the second is to “encourage the flock of Catholics and Christians in general, and especially Catholics who live in this special situation.” He added that Catholics from neighboring countries will also participate in the public events of Pope Francis in Bahrain. The 80-year-old bishop has indicated that as he nears retirement, he considers the papal visit a kind of fulfillment of his ministry. It was “kind of the climax of my life here in the Arabian Peninsula,” he said. FSN
