02/26/2023 1:26 pm (act. 02/26/2023 1:26 pm)
Schönborn’s visit to Saudi Arabia was dedicated to interfaith dialogue. ©APA/EVA MANHART
According to Kathpress, Cardinal Schönborn met with the secretary general of the Muslim World League, Muhammad Al-Issa, in Riyadh on Saturday.
The Archbishop of Vienna thus accepted Issa’s invitation to Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, Schönborn highlighted, among other things, the importance of religious freedom. At the same time, both interlocutors confirmed their efforts to deepen interreligious dialogue, the Catholic news agency reported on Sunday.
Schönborn’s visit to Saudi Arabia marked by interreligious dialogue
“Especially today, faced with so many challenges, the world needs more unity and not divisions,” said Schönborn. Religions must be part of the solution and not part of the problem. In this context, Issa paid special tribute to Pope Francis and his initiatives for interreligious dialogue. The Pope is a highly respected and valued figure in the Arab world. Last but not least, this is also due to the “Document on the Brotherhood of All Peoples for Peaceful Coexistence in the World”, which Pope Francis and Grand Imam Mohammad Al-Tayyeb of Cairo signed in Abu Dhabi in 2019 .
Schönborn emphasized the need, above all, to educate young people in the spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. He also reported to the host about Austria, where all religions have secure legal status. He also explained the positive cooperation between religions in Austria based on the Church University of Education in Vienna/Krems, where teachers of Christian, Muslim and Jewish religion are sometimes trained together.
Archbishop of Vienna encouraged Catholics in Saudi Arabia
The Muslim World League is an international Islamic non-governmental organization founded in 1962 and funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It sees itself as the cultural and religious representative of the Islamic peoples. In 2018, Secretary General Issa and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Curia Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, signed a treaty of cooperation to promote dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
“Hold on and keep your faith!” – With these words, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn encouraged local Christians during meetings with Catholics at the Austrian embassy in Riyadh and a religious service on Saturday. These encounters were another focus of the cardinal’s trip to Saudi Arabia.
All Christians in Saudi Arabia are migrants
Christians in Saudi Arabia are 100% migrants. Schönborn met mainly with believers from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan. The cardinal said he was aware of the difficult conditions in which Christians live their faith here. His testimony of faith is even more impressive. Northern Arabian Bishop Paul Hinder and his designated successor Aldo Berardi also came to the Austrian embassy.
About 1.5 million of Saudi Arabia’s approximately 33 million people are Christians (about 4%). More than half of them are Catholic, but there are also numerous Copts from Egypt and Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians in the country.