In Naples, pope urges people to trust God will hear their prayers

Published: 2007-10-22

NAPLES, Italy (CNS) -- Under gray skies and a cold rain, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged people to stand firm in their hope that God will hear their prayers for justice and peace. Arriving to celebrate Mass Oct. 21 in Naples' historic Piazza del Plebiscito, Pope Benedict stopped to embrace Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury and other leaders of Christian churches. The religious leaders were in Naples for an Oct. 21-23 interreligious meeting sponsored by the Rome-based Sant'Egidio Community. After the Mass, they were joined by representatives of the Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and other religions for a meeting and lunch with the pope. Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Williams and Ezzedine Ibrahim, a Muslim scholar from the United Arab Emirates, were among the nine guests at the pope's table. Ibrahim was one of 138 Muslim leaders and scholars who signed an Oct. 11 letter to the pope and other Christian leaders proposing a dialogue based on the shared beliefs that there is only one God, that God loves the people he created and that he calls believers to love others.

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