Pope Francis travels to Bahrain

Pope Francis is traveling to the Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain this Thursday. The 85-year-old wants to fly from Rome in the morning and is expected in the Arabian Peninsula country in the afternoon (local time). It is the first visit by a Pope to Bahrain. The occasion is an interfaith forum. The focus of the trip is the meetings with representatives of Islam and the conclusion of the forum in which the head of the Catholic Church wants to speak on Friday.

With the trip, the pontiff follows his lineage to get closer to the Muslim world. A Sunni dynasty rules Bahrain, but the majority of the population belongs to the Shia branch of Islam. This has caused tension in the past. The Catholic community in the country is made up of around 80,000 people. Like other Gulf states, Bahrain has been criticized for its human rights record. The organizations are demanding that the pope raise the issue during his visit.