“Our meeting is the message.” Pope Francis spoke these words on Monday to Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib, the grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque, in their 30-minute meeting at the Vatican. The historic meeting could not have come at a more appropriate time.
While it is true that many who call themselves Muslim have dominated the news cycle through their acts of terror, it does not follow that all Muslims subscribe to this mentality of violence. People of the Muslim faith desire to live in a peaceful world, as do people of the Christian faith. It behooves us, then, as Christians to find common ground with our Muslim brothers and sisters so that together we can make peace a priority.
Vatican Council II emphasized the importance of both ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. Sadly, it seems that dialogue is a rare commodity today. We need only to look at the current political environment in our own country to see that dialogue is rarely, if ever, tried. It seems easier to blame others rather than to engage in genuine dialogue.
This is why Pope Francis said that the meeting between he and the Sheik was the message. From the beginning of his pontificate, Francis has been leading by example. If there is to be any progress made in Catholic-Muslim relations, then the only way forward is through dialogue. Hopefully, the meeting on Monday was the beginning of a stronger relationship with our Muslim friends as well as a witness to the world that dialogue is the way to peace.
