A Culture of Encounter

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In the first chapter of his book, "On Heaven and Earth", Pope Francis spoke about the "culture of Encounter" in describing the mural painting in the facade of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The mural painting was about the encounter of Jewish leader Joseph, second in command during that time who was sold by his brothers to Ismaelites who sold him as a slave in Egypt. "Is my father still alive?", asked Joseph his brothers, as he embraced them. Decades of misunderstanding converged in that embrace, so Bergoglio. Yesterday, Pope Francis arrived in Bahgdad, Iraq with immense insecurities hovering over this sojourn that could endanger his life. Iran-backed militias have been attacking US infrastructures and others identified as Western. He said he felt dutybound as a penitent pilgrim to go to Mosul to visit Christian communities whose city was levelled to the ground by ISIS a few years back. The highlight of his Iraq pilgrimage has something to do with his encounter with a renown Shiite leader who was instrumental in convincing orthodox Muslims to liberate the holy sites of Mosul, a Christian enclave, even if no Muslim holy sites are in the city. The culture of encounter is indeed taking place in that part of the world. I ask wholeheartedly everyone to say a little prayer for this messenger of peace in this decade. photo credits: Arab News