Pope Urges Efforts to End Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Pope Francis made an urgent appeal for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen on Sunday as he embarked on the first-ever papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula, where he is seeking to turn a page in Christian-Muslim relations while also ministering to a unique, thriving island of Catholicism.

Francis called for the urgent observation of a limited ceasefire reached in December and for food and medicine to get to Yemen's people, who are suffering the world's worst humanitarian crisis, AP reported.

He made the appeal at the Vatican before boarding a plane to the United Arab Emirates, which has been Saudi Arabia's main ally in its war on Yemen, to avoid embarrassing his hosts with a public call while in the region.

“The people are exhausted by the long conflict and many children are hungry, but humanitarian aid isn't accessible,” Francis said in his noontime Sunday blessing. “The cries of these children and their parents rise up” to God.

Francis is travelling to Abu Dhabi to participate in a conference on interreligious dialogue sponsored the Emirates-based Muslim Council of Elders, an initiative that seeks to counter religious fanaticism by promoting a moderate brand of Islam.

It's the brainchild of Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar, the revered 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam that trains clerics and scholars from around the world.

In a video message to the Emirates on the eve of his trip, Francis paid homage to his “friend and dear brother” el-Tayeb and praised his courage in calling the meeting to assert that “God unites and doesn't divide.”

“I am pleased with this meeting offered by the Lord to write, on your dear land, a new page in the history of relations among religions and confirm that we are brothers despite our differences,” Francis said.

In a statement on Saturday, Al-Azhar described the upcoming meeting as “historic” and praised the “deeply fraternal relationship” between its imam and the pope, which it said even includes birthday greetings.

Francis and el-Tayeb are to address the “Human Fraternity Meeting” on Monday that has drawn not only Christian and Muslim representatives but hundreds of Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and other Christian faith leaders.

It's all part of the Emirates' “Year of Tolerance” and its effort to show its openness to other faiths.

Francis' other main initiative in Abu Dhabi is a giant Mass on Tuesday in the city's main sports arena that is expected to draw some 135,000 people in what some have called the largest show of public Christian worship on the Arabian Peninsula.