This can only be good, for starters
Pope Benedict has been calling on world leaders to respect the human rights of all their citizens and assure them religious freedom to practice their beliefs.
China hasn’t been responding too well to that.
Today, Benedict met with Saudi King Abdallah to talk about the fundamentals of…world peace.
The meetings took place in a cordial atmosphere and provided an opportunity to consider questions close to the heart of both sides. In particular, the commitment to inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue aimed at peaceful and fruitful coexistence between individuals and peoples was reiterated, as was the importance of collaboration between Christians, Muslims and Jews for the promotion of peace, justice and spiritual and moral values, especially in support of the family.
“The Vatican authorities expressed their hope for the prosperity of all the inhabitants of the country, and mention was made of the positive and industrious presence of Christians.
Plenty of the inhabitants of Saudi Arabis are prosperous, so maybe Vatican officials were politely pointing out how Christians work there, too, contributing to the kingdom’s prosperity. So they should justly be compensated. That’s my guess, anyway.
“Finally, views were exchanged on the situation in the Middle East and on the need to find a just solution to the conflicts affecting the region, especially that between Israelis and Palestinians.”
So what I’m wondering is, did they have any ‘action items’ coming away from that talk?
