Pomp-filled ceremony welcomes Pope Francis on UAE visit
The trip will end with the first-ever papal Mass on the Arabian Peninsula.
Pope Francis opened his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday with a pomp-filled welcome ceremony before he was to address faith leaders in a show of religious tolerance in a Muslim region known for its restrictions on religious freedom.
Francis arrived at the Abu Dhabi presidential palace in a simple Kia hatchback but was greeted with an artillery salute and military flyover by a country now at war.
Even for a nation known for its excesses, the Emiratis’ red-carpet welcome was remarkable for a pope who prides himself on simplicity.
Francis stood between Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Emirati vice president and prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as the Vatican and Emirati anthems played and delegations were introduced.
Francis’ speech to the gathering of faith leaders later in the evening is the highlight of his brief, 40-hour visit to Abu Dhabi, the first to the Arabian Peninsula by a pope.
The Emirates has been Saudi Arabia’s main ally in the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting the country’s Houthi rebels, and Francis’ pre-trip appeal was a way for him to avoid embarrassing his hosts with a public denunciation of the humanitarian costs of the war while in the region.
In a sign that regional politics was playing a not-insignificant role in Francis’ visit, the papal plane flew north of Qatar and around the peninsular, energy-rich nation on his flight Sunday.
Four Arab nations — Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 as part of a regional political dispute. Tensions are still high between the nations, especially after Qatar’s win at the Emirates-hosted Asian Cup soccer tournament this past week.
By avoiding Qatari airspace, Francis omitted sending a telegram of greetings to the country’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as he would do when flying through the airspace of countries. He sent one when passing by the island nation of Bahrain.
