{"id":31557,"date":"2019-02-02T19:23:33","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T19:23:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=31557"},"modified":"2019-02-02T19:23:33","modified_gmt":"2019-02-02T19:23:33","slug":"catholics-in-the-uae-popes-visit-a-testament-to-peace-and-tolerance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=31557","title":{"rendered":"Catholics in the UAE: \u2018Pope\u2019s visit a testament to peace and tolerance\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\nDUBAI: Roman Catholics in Dubai – home to the largest community in the Arabian Gulf – believe that the visit of Pope Francis to the region could be a symbol of peace and tolerance in the wider Middle East.<\/p>\n

\nFor some, the visit is a confirmation of their faith and an opportunity to re-affirm their Catholic heritage in the tolerant environment of the UAE; for others, it is a sign that religion can be a positive force in a region often beset by sectarian problems.<\/p>\n

\nChris Pickthall, a British businessman who has lived in the UAE for 13 years, told Arab News: \u201cI\u2019ve noticed in the UAE that the less you have in material terms, the more faith you have. I was in church yesterday and the whole congregation was incredibly excited. Most are Asian Catholics and I would hope their example would inspire other expat Catholics to rekindle their faith. Rich Westerners often forget their religion with all the distractions in this part of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nRaad Jabouri Al Skeikh, an Iraqi Catholic whose forefathers built churches in Amara and Basra and who has lived in the UAE for 17 years, said: \u201cI think it\u2019s a message to those who have sectarian views that they should change their ways – live and let live in the modern world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nThe Asian community – from the Philippines, India and Bangladesh – is the biggest Catholic grouping in the UAE, and its members will set the tone for the Papal visit. They see it as a re-affirmation of the values they learned at home, and by which they try to live in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\nBefore Christmas, in St Mary\u2019s Church in Dubai, hours before the sun has even started to show on the horizon, thousands of worshipers flock to take part in \u201cMisa de Gallo\u201d \u2013 a nine-day series of masses that leads up to Christmas.<\/p>\n

\nThe faithful believe that when they complete the devotional series of Masses, a centuries old Catholic tradition, their wishes will come true.<\/p>\n

\nDubai residents Princess and Noel Caceres\u00a0have never missed a mass for three years even if that has meant going a night without sleep.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAlthough we have a very busy schedule working in sales, we would never miss a mass. Especially the Simbang Gabi (a term in the Philippines used to describe Misa de Gallo),\u201d Princess said.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI\u2019m so glad that we get to attend Simbang Gabi here in Dubai, because it\u2019s a very important tradition for us,\u201d she added. Hailing from a devoted Catholic Filipino family, Princess said that despite the distance from her home, she has never felt alienated since she moved to UAE in 2011.<\/p>\n

\nWith approximately 1 million members, she said she was immediately introduced to a large Catholic community, with masses regularly attended by up to 2,000 worshipers in St Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI never had any difficulties being a Catholic here,\u201d she said, adding that she was always impressed by the large congregations attending church services, especially during \u201cfeast\u201d masses such as Christmas where the crowd increases to about 20,000 people. \u201cI\u2019m thankful that the UAE has become really open to other religions,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\nAl Sheikh, whose ancestral home in Mosul, Iraq, was devastated by the Daesh occupation four years ago, agreed: \u201cBoth my sons Gabriel and Sam were born and christened here, and Gabriel will take his first communion later this year. Not every government allows different religions to practice so openly, with the protection of a tolerant state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nFilipinos form a large part of the UAE\u2019s Catholic population, which the Apostolic Vicariate Of Southern Arabia (AVOSA) says is composed of more than 150 nationalities, who worship in nine accredited churches across the UAE.<\/p>\n

\nOther nationalities in the Catholic church\u2019s UAE congregation include Indians, who can also attend masses in a variety of languages: Malayalam, Konkani, Tamil, Urdu.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cReligion is a big part of my life, growing up in Goa. Whenever I missed a mass, I\u2019d feel so incomplete, like a part of me was missing,\u201d said Daisy Dacosta, who moved from India to the UAE in 2014.<\/p>\n

\nShe said she thought she would find it difficult as a practicing Catholic in a Muslim country, but said there were many opportunities to worship. \u201cIt\u2019s really a good thing, there are masses every day, and you can choose the one that fits your schedule,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\nThe St Mary\u2019s Catholic Church, in Dubai, boasts what is thought to be the country\u2019s biggest parish in terms of attendance. It conducts 25 English masses every week, with congregations of more than 3,000 per service, a church official told Arab News.<\/p>\n

\nCatholic churches in the UAE also offer catechism classes for children, where they learn about their religion.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI was amazed when I saw a crowd of young kids at the church when I attended a service once. It\u2019s nice to see that Catholic churches here in the UAE are also engaging the youth,\u201d Dacosta said.<\/p>\n

\nCatholics have also formed community groups with the full support of their parishes which allow them to conduct activities on church premises.\u00a0 \u201cAll the parishes in the UAE provide a room or a hall to all communities registered under them,\u201d Art Los Banos, a Dubai-based socio-civic leader, said.<\/p>\n

\nSome would allocate their weekends to attend church-based community gatherings, as these groups provide \u201clife support system,\u201d especially for expats who struggle with being away from their families. \u201cHaving a church in all of the emirates is really a blessing,\u201d Los Banos, who has been in the UAE since 2001 and has seen significant changes in the community over the years, said.<\/p>\n

\nPickthall, whose two children were born and baptized in the UAE, said: \u201cMany of my Filipino friends at church may live difficult lives, but their fate and devotion is incredible. It\u2019s a lesson for the rest of us that there are higher things in life.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DUBAI: Roman Catholics in Dubai – home to the largest community in the Arabian Gulf – believe that the visit of Pope Francis to the region could be a symbol of peace and tolerance in the wider Middle East. For some, the visit is a confirmation of their faith and an opportunity to re-affirm their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}