{"id":17954,"date":"2016-10-06T07:45:05","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T07:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=17954"},"modified":"2016-10-08T17:10:44","modified_gmt":"2016-10-08T17:10:44","slug":"azerbaijan-highlights-of-popes-visit-acn-malta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/10\/06\/azerbaijan-highlights-of-popes-visit-acn-malta\/","title":{"rendered":"AZERBAIJAN \u2013 Highlights of Pope&#8217;s visit &#8211; ACN Malta"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">AZERBAIJAN \u2013 Highlights of Pope&#8217;s visit<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pope Francis visited Azerbaijan as the last stop of his three-day trip. This was the first time the Pope ever travelled to a majority Shi\u2019ite nation. There are only about 600-700, Roman Catholics in Azerbaijan, only 200 of whom have citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>After landing at the Heydar Aliyev airport in Baku, the Pope celebrated Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the Salesian Center of Baku, the only Catholic church in Azerbaijan. Originally built in 1915, the church was destroyed by the communist regime in 1931. After St. John Paul II\u2019s visit in 2002 the Catholic community was finally able to purchase the land to rebuild the church, which was completed in 2009.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-18000\" src=\"http:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Pope_Francis_speaks_to_authorities_in_Azerbaijan_Oct_2_2016_Credit_Alan_Holdren_CNA-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Pope_Francis_speaks_to_authorities_in_Azerbaijan_Oct_2_2016_Credit_Alan_Holdren_CNA\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>After having lunch with the Salesian Community, the Pope attended a Welcoming Protocol Ceremony in the square of the Presidential Palace in Genclik. He paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic Ilham Aliyev and his wife and met other authorities and members of the Diplomatic Corps. Francis had previously met with Aliyev and his wife at the Vatican in March 2015, where they discussed the life of the Catholic Church in the country, the promotion of interreligious dialogue and the importance of negotiation in conflict resolution. In 2011, an international agreement with the Holy See was ratified in Azerbaijan, further cementing a \u201cstable regulatory framework for the life of the Catholic community\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n<p>In a meeting with political leaders, Pope Francis said \u00a0he had been particularly pleased to see \u201cthe cordial relations enjoyed by the Catholic, Muslim, Orthodox and Jewish\u201d communities in Azerbaijan and criticised those who use God as an excuse for religiously-motivated violence. Francis stressed that \u201cthe attachment to authentic religious values is utterly incompatible with the attempt to violently impose on others one\u2019s own vision, using God\u2019s holy name as &#8216;armor.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Pope Francis warned that \u201cSociety must always overcome the temptation to take advantage of religious factors.\u201d \u00a0He said that religions must always be respected in civil society, and can never be used as a tool to justify violence, \u201cnor can they ever lend support to, or approve of, conflicts and disagreements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In his speech, the Pope emphasized how important it is, especially at the present time, to show the world how it is possible to express one&#8217;s own ideas and worldview without abusing the rights of those with differing perspectives. He added that a culture of peace is only fostered by an \u201cuntiring willingness for dialogue and by the awareness that there is no reasonable alternative to patiently and assiduously searching for shared solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Francis concluded by saying: \u201cI am confident that, with the help of God, and the good will of those involved, the Caucasus will be a place where, through dialogue and negotiation, disputes and differences will be resolved and overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pope\u2018s final engagement was an ecumenical meeting at \u201cHeydar Aliyev\u201d Centre. This was attended by Allahsh\u00fck\u00fcr Hummat Pashazade, who as Sheikh and Grand Mufti of the Caucasus is one of the most influential Muslim voices in the world, local religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and those of the Jewish communities.<\/p>\n<p>In his final speech in Azerbaijan, Pope Francis spoke at length praising the good interreligious relations in the country. Even though it is a small presence in the country, the Catholic Church, the Pope said, \u201cis truly present in the civic and social life of Azerbaijan; it participates in its joys and shares the challenges of confronting its difficulties.\u201d He highlighted the good relations Catholics enjoy with Muslims in the area, indicating \u201cthe tangible help\u201d that the Islamic leader has offered to the Catholic community on several occasions. He also pointed to the positive relationship between Catholics and Orthodox in the area, as well as the friendship they enjoy with the Jews.<\/p>\n<p>The Pope noted that there is a desire within Azerbaijan to protect the religious heritage of each and to pursue greater openness,\u00a0 adding that \u201cit is not opposition but cooperation that helps to build better and more peaceful societies.\u201d Francis prayed that religions, particularly in the Caucasus region, would be \u201cactive agents\u201d in overcoming the tragedies and tensions of the past and present.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong> ACN Malta<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AZERBAIJAN \u2013 Highlights of Pope&#8217;s visit &nbsp; Pope Francis visited Azerbaijan as the last stop of his three-day trip. This was the first time the Pope ever travelled to a majority Shi\u2019ite nation. There are only about 600-700, Roman Catholics in Azerbaijan, only 200 of whom have citizenship. After landing at the Heydar Aliyev airport&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>AZERBAIJAN \u2013 Highlights of Pope&#039;s visit - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2016\/10\/06\/azerbaijan-highlights-of-popes-visit-acn-malta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AZERBAIJAN \u2013 Highlights of Pope&#039;s visit - ACN Malta - Aid to the Church in Need (Malta)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AZERBAIJAN \u2013 Highlights of Pope&#8217;s visit &nbsp; Pope Francis visited Azerbaijan as the last stop of his three-day trip. 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