Pope Francis Urges Dialogue With Islam; Help For Poor In Address To Diplomats

Philip Pullella*

Pope Francis (Photo: AP)

VATICAN CITY, March 22 (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged the West on Friday to intensify dialogue with Islam and appealed to the world to do more to combat poverty and protect the environment.

Speaking in Italian, the new pontiff said richer countries should fight what he called "the spiritual poverty of our times" by re-forging links with God.

Pope inaugurates his reign with Mass attended by Patriarch Bartholomew

Pope Francis inaugurated his papacy with a Mass in front of hundreds of thousands of people including foreign leaders in St. Peter's Square on Tuesday, a crowd which also included İstanbul-based Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ.

Pontiff receives high marks for interfaith efforts

Ann Rodgers

Pope Francis (Photo: AP)

VATICAN CITY — As Pope Francis begins to lead the worldwide Catholic Church, accolades are pouring in from people of other traditions who knew him as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina.

“His humility drew my attention,” Sheik Mohsen Ali, an Islamic leader in Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald. He “always showed himself a friend of the Islamic community.”

The Vatican's Jesuit moment: At the cutting edge

WHETHER you admire them or fear them, the Jesuits have a great mystique. Now that a pope has emerged from the Society of Jesus, for the first time in its five centuries of history, fascination with them is bound to grow. We can all expect to hear a lot of good and bad things about the Jesuits in the days and weeks to come.

So what can be said about them for certain? They are the largest religious order within the Catholic church, with about 18,000 members, of whom 12,000 or so have undergone a long and rigorous training (at least eight years) to become priests. Since its foundation in 1540, by Ignatius of Loyola, and six of his fellow students at the university of Paris, the Society of Jesus has had a reputation for brains, energy and independence.

New pope slips out of Vatican for prayer visit, Catholics hail pontiff

Pope Francis, barely 12 hours after his election, quietly left the Vatican early on Thursday to pray for guidance as he looks to usher a Roman Catholic Church mired in intrigue and scandal into a new age of simplicity and humility.

Southern California priests participate in landmark trip to Turkey

Paula Doyle

Twelve archdiocesan priests are exploring ancient Christian sites and visiting Catholic faith communities in Turkey this week, as part of a trip organized exclusively for Catholic clergy by an organization of Turkish-American Muslims that promotes intercultural and interreligious awareness.

Father Alexei Smith, archdiocesan director of ecumenical/interreligious affairs, and Msgr. Thomas Welbers, pastor of Good Shepherd Church in Beverly Hills, are co-leading the trip, which is being sponsored and organized by the Pacifica Institute.

What Catholics can learn from the Qur'an

Kathleen K. Duff *

This year during Ramadan -- the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar when Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad -- I was in solidarity with my Muslim sisters and brothers throughout the world by reading the Quran. But here's the thing: I am a Roman Catholic.