John Paul II and Religions
Gallery

    During all his pontificate John Paul II has tried to create bridges of friendship and understanding with Orthodox, with all Christian Denominations... and, in fact, with all religions... a great ministry of reconciliation.

    Pastoral Visit in Turkey (28-30 November 1979): He had a meeting with the Orthodox Patriarch Demetrius I in Constantinople. They meet again in 1987 signing a joint declaration.
    Letter for the 500th anniversary of the birth of  Martin Luther, Nov.5, 1983,
    Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope ever to preach in a Lutheran Church in Rome, in December 1983
    He became the first Pope to visit a synagogue and the first to visit the memorial at Auschwitz to victims of the Holocaust. In ending the Catholic-Jewish estrangement, he called Jews "our elder brothers."
    The Pope officiates over the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican. At Jerusalem, he signs an agreement on some basic principles regulating relations between the Holy See and the Israel. Dec.30, 1993.
    Respectfully removing his shoes, John Paul becomes the first pope to enter a Mosque when he tours a 1,300-year-old Islamic house of worship in Damascus, Syria... and in 2000 he meets the top political leaders of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian authority.
    Pope John Paul II kisses the Qur'an in May 1999
    John Paul II receives Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat at the Vatican, provoking criticism from Israel and Jewish groups. Sept. 15, 1982.
    He has met with Buddhist and Hindu leaders...with atheists and Communists, Gorbachev, Fidel Castro...
    In fact, he has been most understanding with all the cultures he has visited in his trips, specially Indians and Africans...

With Bartholomoi, 1995
 

Pope John Paul II visiting a synagogue in Rome on April 1983

Pope John Paul II kisses the Qur'an in May 1999

With Yasser Arafat, 1982- Click Picture to Enlarge

The calling together by Pope John Paul II of representatives from a dozen religions to pray for world peace at Assisi. Amongst those present were Orthodox, Christian Denominations, Moslems, Hindus, Buddhists, Shintoists, Zorastrians...

John Paul II with an African Voodoo Priest
Assisi 1986

John Paul II with  Jewish B'nai B'rith at a Masonic Lodge, Mar. 22, 1984

John Paul II with the Trilateral Commission, Apr. 18, 1983

The Pope with Putin, President of Russia, Nov. 7, 2003

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