Pope calls for dialogue with Islam, outreach to China.

Pope calls for dialogue with Islam, outreach to China.(TOI). VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis called Friday for more dialogue with Islam and offered an olive branch to China and other countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

The occasion was an audience with ambassadors from the 180 countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, in which Francis explained he would work for peace, the poor and to “build bridges” between peoples. He noted that even his title “pontiff” means bridge-builder.

Francis said it was important to intensify dialogue among different religions “particularly dialogue with Islam” and to deepen the church’s outreach to atheists.

The Vatican’s relations with Islam hit several bumps during Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy: He outraged Muslims with a 2006 speech quoting a Byzantine emperor as saying some of the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings were “evil and inhuman.” And in 2011, the pre-eminent institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world, Cairo’s Al-Azhar institute, froze dialogue with the Vatican to protest Benedict’s call for greater protection of Christians in Egypt.

However, the Vatican said Friday that Al-Azhar’s chief imam, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib, sent a message of congratulations to Francis for his election and hoped for cooperation. That’s a possible sign of a thaw in relations with the arrival of a pope whose interfaith outreach while archbishop of Buenos Aires has been well-documented.

Francis also said he wanted to begin a “journey” with countries that don’t yet have diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Benedict had made improving relations with China a priority, given the millions of faithful who belong to China’s underground Catholic Church, but tensions remain particularly over the appointment of bishops. China insists on naming them, while the Vatican says only the pope can name bishops.

China congratulated Francis for his election but said establishing formal relations would depend on the Vatican cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan and ceasing activities Beijing considers as interference in its internal affairs — a reference to bishops’ appointments.

The Holy See also doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. The latest country added to its list of diplomatic recognition was South Sudan, just last month. Hmmm......Pope Francis’ run-in with Benedict XVI over the Prophet Mohammed and the 'Black Pope'* General of the Jesuits used to be head of the Asia department.And you can't even bring a Bibble in to Saudi Arabia...........New World Order anyone?Read the full story here.

*(Nicolas, 71, has run Jesuit operations in east Asia and Oceania since 2004 and spent most of his career in the Far East after being ordained in Tokyo in 1967. )