Pope joins with imam in making calls for peace before UN Security Council vote

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Pope Francis and a leading Sunni imam have made calls for peace as the U.N. Security Council met to discuss the importance of human fraternity. The pope sent a statement calling for an end to war. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar in Cairo, said in a virtual briefing that human fraternity was the key to global peace. After their appeals, council members adopted a resolution recognizing that hate speech, racism, xenophobia, intolerance and gender discrimination can contribute to conflict. The resolution urges all countries to condemn these acts. It was adopted unanimously even though some of the council’s 15 members have been accused of some of the same actions they are condemning.