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Opening the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica and the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis also hopes to open a year of "fervent dialogue" among Christians, Muslims and Jews, so that all who profess faith in a merciful God may be stronger in showing mercy toward one another.
In his official proclamation of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis noted that the Christian profession of faith in God's mercy "relates us to Judaism and Islam, both of which consider mercy to be one of God's most important attributes." He prayed that the jubilee would "open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination." "This jubilee of mercy is an inspiration," said Shahrzad Houshmand, a Muslim scholar who teaches at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University. "At this difficult moment in history, it is time to return to the original name of God who, for all three of us, is mercy. We have lost so much on the way because of pride, because we have not recognized each other as brothers and sisters and some have even gone so far astray that they see each other as enemies. This jubilee can help us return to the roots of our religious existence which is based on the name of God, the merciful." For Rabbi Naftali Brawer, CEO of the Spiritual Capital Foundation in London, being religious means imitating God, particularly in the pursuit of justice and the demonstration of mercy. Making the world a better place, he said, "is all about individuals, it is about bottom up, it is about little acts of mercy. ... It's not going to happen through conferences of interfaith leaders making more proclamations about the meaning of mercy or theologians delving deeply into what mercy means, but it's about people of different faiths living together and trying to see the other for who the other really is and responding accordingly." Muslims, she said, believe that at different times of the year -- such as the last days of the fasting month of Ramadan -- the gates of heaven open wider and God's mercy flows more abundantly. "I see the jubilee as having this purpose, too, of healing deep wounds. We must welcome this call to mercy and remember than no one is perfect, no one is without need of mercy. Like Jesus said, 'Let whoever is without sin throw the first stone.'"
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