Pope Francis has spoken out against the death penalty in the historic first papal visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The Holy Father included a denunciation of capital punishment as part of a general defence of the right to life during a speech to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, civic dignitaries and diplomatic corps at the Sakhir Royal Palace.
“I express my appreciation for the International Conferences and the possibilities for encounter that this Kingdom organises and promotes, stressing in particular the themes of respect, tolerance, and religious freedom,” the Pope said on the first day of his three-day visit to the Arab kingdom.
“These are, above all, commitments that need constantly to be put into practice so that religious freedom will be complete and not limited to freedom of worship; that equal dignity and equal opportunities will be concretely recognised for each group and for every individual; that no forms of discrimination exist and that fundamental human rights are not violated but promoted.”
The Pontiff said: “I think in the first place of the right to life, of the need to guarantee that right always, including for those being punished, whose lives should not be taken.”
Although most Western nations have abolished the death penalty, it remains in force in much of the Muslim world, including Bahrain.
The Persian Gulf state has sentenced 50 people to death since 2011, mostly on terrorism charges and 26 prisoners are at present on death row awaiting execution.
Francis, 85, is visiting Bahrain partly to attend the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence where he is due to deliver the closing speech.
He said that the forum was vital for the future of “peaceful human coexistence”.
“These days mark a precious stage in the journey of friendship that has intensified in recent years with various Islamic religious leaders, a fraternal journey that, beneath the gaze of heaven, seeks to foster peace on earth,” the Pope said.
“May we never allow opportunities for encounter between civilizations, religions, and cultures to evaporate, or the roots of our humanity to become desiccated and lifeless,” he added.
Bahrain is one of the most tolerant of all the Arab nations, having to Catholic churches and 20 priests serving a Catholic population of 161,000 people, mostly migrants from the Philippines and India, among an overall population of 1.5 million.
In his address, the Pope also spoke of the importance of protecting the environment and denounced unemployment and workplace practices that were “dehumanising”.
He also condemned war and called for peace, especially in Yemen, a country on the Arab peninsula which has endured a bitter eight-year conflict between the Saudi-backed government and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
“Let there be an end to the clash of weapons,” said Francis. “Let us be committed, everywhere and concretely, to building peace.”
He concluded: “I am here today as a believer, as a Christian, as a man and as a pilgrim of peace, because today, more than ever, we are called, everywhere, to commit ourselves seriously to peace-making.”
Francis said: “War brings out the worst in man: selfishness, violence, and dishonesty. For war, every war, brings in its wake the death of truth.
“Let us reject the logic of weapons and change course, diverting enormous military expenditures to investments in combating hunger and the lack of health care and education.”
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