Muslim Leaders To Accompany Pope On Trip

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis would be accompanied by two Muslim leaders to the Middle East to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Eastern Orthodox Church leader, Patriarch Athenagoras. The Vatican Spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that the journey with the Muslim leaders was to send out a message that interreligious dialogue was a normal part of the Holy Father’s way of life. He said the Pope would be visiting Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Israel from May 24 to May 26 with Muslim leaders Abraham Skorka and Omar Abboud, his Buenos Aires-based long-time friends. He said Skorka was the head of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, while Abboud leads the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue. Lombardi said official papal delegations have never before included leaders from other religions.