Pope Francis Performs Another Act of Kindness

As the leader of the entire Catholic Church, Pope Francis has certainly made a name for himself. From auctioning off expensive gifts to give the profits to the poor to going on undercover missions during the night to preach to the homeless, Pope Francis continues to amaze us. My personal favorite story of the pope is when a young child ran up on the Vatican stage during one of Francis’ speeches just to give him a hug; instead of sending the young boy back to his seat, the pope didn’t seem to mind at all and even took this opportunity to let the small admirer sit on his chair while the pontiff stood to finish his homily.

Aw

But the main reason he really comes through as an inspiration to do the right thing is based on the fact that Pope Francis is a adamant supporter of tolerance and respect. In order to do his part in helping diffuse the animosity between many Christians and Muslims, he took the time to visit Turkey for a three day trip preaching messages of compassion and nonviolence between the two religions. In a country that’s 99% Muslim, it is clear that Christians do not get the upper hand in any situation; critics continue to question why the Turkish government has yet to return confiscated Christian properties that were taken years ago. While Francis has had some backlash from the Muslim community in the past over certain speeches of his, this time he impressed many with his visit to the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia (which is also a mosque).

The Blue Mosque

The Hagia Sophia

As we all know, the Middle East is in much need of kind words and positive vibes. In his addresses, Pope Francis was able to both urge Christians to be more open-minded when it came to understanding   Islam, and yet also condemn terrorist acts “justified” by Fundamentalism. Needless to say the trip was a success.