Pope, top imam embrace in historic Vatican meeting

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis met the grand imam of Cairo’s AlAzhar Mosque at the Vatican on Monday in a historic encounter that was sealed with a hugely symbolic hug

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis met the grand imam of Cairo’s AlAzhar Mosque at the Vatican on Monday in a historic encounter that was sealed with a hugely symbolic hug and exchange of kisses. The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world’s Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013. “Our meeting is the message,” Francis said at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb.

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