Der Papst und die Muslime

Heute also ist der letzte Amtstag des Papstes, der sich danach in den Ruhestand begibt. Rückblicke auf seine Amtszeit gab es in den letzten Wochen ausreichend. Dieser hier konzentriert sich auf die Rolle des Papstes im interreligiösen Dialog. Es spricht Cornelis Hulsman, der Chefredakteur des Arab-West Reports:

"The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI comes to all as a total surprise. This is for us a moment to reflect on his relations with Muslims. While his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, was much beloved in the Muslim world, Pope Benedict XVI was not. There are several reasons for this; his downgrading of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and his controversial lecture about Islam in 2006 in Regensburg which had been ill prepared without consulting the Islam experts in the church.

 

Father Doug May has been living for many years in Egypt and wrote his reflections about the Pope’s relations with Muslims. I wrote a reflection on the Pope’s lecture in Regensburg since I had been involved in 2006 in analyzing this text.

 

Later efforts of the pope and church to repair some of the damage were clearly insufficient. It is much hoped that the next pope will give more value and be much more involved in interreligious dialogue for the sake of promoting harmonious relations between Muslims and Christians worldwide. Interreligious dialogue should not aim at bringing religious beliefs closer but should aim at promoting mutual respect and understanding despite the differences that clearly exist.

 

Cornelis Hulsman,

Editor-in-chief of Arab-West Report"