Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Papal Notes - Global Holiday Feb.4?

"In the latest sign of the importance Pope Francis attributes to his contentious Abu Dhabi interreligious initiative, he has now united with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Mosque in Egypt, Ahmed el-
Tayeb, in petitioning the United Nations to declare February 4 the annual World Day of Human Fraternity, the Vatican has announced
February 4 is the anniversary of Pope Francis’s controversial joint declaration with the Sunni Grand Imam, seen by its critics as promoting religious indifferentism.... it has also incited considerable controversy for its assertion that “the diversity of religions” is “willed by God” apparently in the same way as race, sex, and language.
Vatican News reported that Guterres “expressed his appreciation and willingness to take part in the initiative, stressing the
importance of working for the whole of humanity.”
He also appointed Adama Dieng, UN special adviser for hate speech and the prevention of genocide, as UN representative to follow up on the proposed activities and work with the Committee.
In a September 27, 2019 interview, Dieng said that while there is no official definition for hate speech, the United Nations understands it to mean “any kind of communication in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are, in other words, based on their religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender or other identity factor.” 
The World Day of Human Fraternity was initially proposed on September 11, 2019, at the first meeting of the “Higher Committee on Human Fraternity” at the Vatican. In a similar initiative the following day, September 12, 2019, Pope Francis invited representatives of the main religions and international organizations such as the United Nations to gather at the Vatican on May 14, 2020 for the signing of a “Global Pact for Education” for a “new humanism.”
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