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Excitement as Pope Francis’ visit to UAE begins today

This is the first visit by a Catholic Pope to the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.

Twelve years ago, when the UAE established ties with the Vatican, no one could predict which way the relationship would progress. Predicting history can be self-defeating, so the leaders decided to make things happen instead. When Pope Francis, the head of Roman Catholic Church travels to Abu Dhabi to build bridges between people of two of the world’s largest religions and cultures on Sunday, history will be made and relations will be redefined and refined. And to think that it’s happening and in such a short span of time since bilateral relations were established in 2007 proves the draw of soft power and takes forward the message of hope and progress.

I am at St Peter’s Square, the heart of the Vatican, where the mood is somber and reverential, like every other day.

Thugh I would prefer not to admit it, I am thankful to be part of this unmissable occasion when pacts of inter-religious harmony will be sealed when the pope meets the UAE’s leadership, and scholars and clerics from different faiths. After completing formalities and collecting my badge from the Vatican’s offices to be on the Papal flight, there is a sense of relief that it’s all coming together now after weeks of uncertainty and back and forth.

Let me explain. For a journalist to be part of the special flight with the pope, one has to be granted accreditation by the Holy See. One is expected to join his entourage from Rome to country he is visiting (in this case, Abu Dhabi, UAE), and return with him back to Rome. It took me a while to get my head around the long journey.

And the special plane is chartered by the Holy See, usually from Italy’s Alitalia.

The return flight is by the carrier of the country he is visiting. Now that the confusion is past and my faith has been restored in the papal process, I am looking forward to get a glimpse of the friendly Francis, often referred to as the People’s Pope. He’s also called the bridge-builder who is unafraid to speak out on social issues. Francis has emerged as the voice of the downtrodden like the migrants and people suffering from war and persecution.

The pontiff has also courted controversy by talking about issues like income inequality, capitalism and globalization. He’s a global conscience-builder and a frequent traveller, too. Only last week, he returned from a trip to the other side of the world, in Panama. The People’s Pope is also a ’political pope’, telling it like it is, and to people who matter. One of the reasons I like him. Perhaps I’ll be allowed to shake his hand. A selfie even . I am impressed by this leap of faith shown by the UAE leadership and the Vatican to bring two civilizations together.

Faith, not as defined in narrow religious terms, but by our core moral beliefs to break down the emotional and mental confines that bind us and shrink our thoughts.

The visit by Pope Francis to the UAE is a journey that has its origins in boundless faith. It comes with the promise of new beginning, where people discover each other and their differences, participate in dialogue and celebrate diversity. The pontiff openly talks of differences, a first for a pope. And there appears to be a fearless papal pursuit to resolve those differences.

The visit by the Catholic pontiff is, therefore, path-breaking, when viewed from the violent prism of conflicts that surround us. Differences make us unique and Francis is happy echoing these differences, acknowledging them and building bridges to make relationships between people work. "We are different in so many ways! But none of it has stopped us from meeting one another and rejoicing to be together," he said during last week’s trip to Panama. "The reason for this, we know, is that something unites us. Someone is a brother to us."

Efforts in the past to unite the people of two Abrahamic and monotheistic religions - Islam and Christianity - have proven arduous and pain-staking, but this papal journey could result in a discovery of the common history that binds people of good faith.

This is the first visit by a Catholic Pope to the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, and one cannot think of a better country than the UAE for this reception and celebration of unity. This is a country that believes in the power of reconciliation, that is unafraid to envision a tolerant future that is removed from past conflicts that have dragged our shared humanity into the dust.

Indeed, this is a leap of faith, not just towards reconciliation but cooperation between civilizations. It is a rebuke to those who gloated and benefited from what was termed a ’clash of civilisations’ more than a decade ago and throughout history. The UAE is a shining example of modernity that hosts a diverse population of over 200 nationalities from all over the world. 

Yes, it took a leap of faith for Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, to visit this country that represents people from all corners of the globe. The invite by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was accepted by the Vatican, and February 3, 2019, will be forever etched in history.