H. H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed participates in majlis at St. Joseph’s Cathedral

27 May 2019 (Abu Dhabi). 

On the evening of the 27 ^th May 2019, His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Interior and several other dignitaries participated in a majlis organized by the Ministry of Interior at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Abu Dhabi. The theme of the majlis was “ Leading future generations to practice ethics of peace across differences of origin and religion.”  
 
Around 250 members of the Catholic congregation were present at the majlis. This included priests, religious sisters and other officials of the church who were present to take part in the informative and engaging sessions.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, said that fraternal encounters such as these are in fact, contributing to building an “ark of fraternity”, in which we have to journey together as brothers and sisters to a new beginning.
 
The Bishop was referring to the speech that Pope Francis made at the Founder’s Memorial, Abu Dhabi, where the Pope elaborated on the symbolism of the logo of the Papal Journey to Abu Dhabi:
 
“ The logo of the journey to Abu Dhabi depicts a dove with an olive branch. It is an image that recalls the story – present in different religious traditions – of the primordial flood. According to the biblical account, in order to preserve humanity from destruction, God asked Noah to enter the ark along with his family. Today, we too in the name of God, in order to safeguard peace, need to enter together as one family into an ark which can sail the stormy seas of the world:  the ark of fraternity .”
 
The Bishop also praised the wise leadership of the United Arab Emirates for guiding the nation towards enormous progress and for encouraging and fostering a climate of growing religious tolerance in its society.
 
The Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates expresses its gratitude to H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the other dignitaries and the officials of the Ministry of Interior for their presence among our midst and for the excellent and informative majlis.
 
This majlis is one among the many initiatives launched by the Government of the United Arab Emirates during the Year of Tolerance 2019 to show the nation’s commitment to putting into effect the joint appeal made by His Holiness Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb to promote human fraternity among peoples.