MANAMA: The annual ‘This Is Bahrain’ ghabga was held last night at Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral with ‘A Prayer for Peace’ theme, under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad.
In attendance alongside multi-faith local religious leaders and diplomats was His Majesty’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and The Pope’s Personal Representative, His Grace, Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent.
The Archbishop outlined that Bahrain was ‘blessed with peace’ in a world scarred by conflicts.
“War is always a defeat for humanity,” he said. “Every conflict forces us to look into our minds, examine ourselves, our conscience, the values we uphold and the choices we make.
“As believers, as people of faith, the terrible war raging in Ukraine is a wake-up call for all of us to rediscover the values of peace.
“We need to have the courage to say no to war, no to tyranny, no to injustice, corruption, discrimination and all attacks on human dignity.
“This is a moment to open our hearts and rediscover the values of dialogue, the values of kindness and goodness.
“We come together to pray for peace and to rediscover our common humanity and the value of peace,” said Archbishop Eugene, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
Earlier, Betsy B Mathieson, president of This Is Bahrain – a group that has been hosting roadshows around the globe promoting and celebrating Bahrain’s unity and tolerance – welcomed guests.
“This is indeed a truly Holy Month for all three Abrahamic faiths as, whilst Muslims are observing Ramadan, our Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters will observe Passover and Easter,” she said.
“Our theme for this evening is ‘A Prayer for Peace’ and this is something we are badly in need of right now.
“Sadly tonight, ‘war’ is not just a word in history books, it is now headlining in global news, it has taken over our social media and it has begun to haunt the minds of our innocent children.
“Any war or conflict today has a global reach. What is happening in Europe and around the world right now affects us all.”
Ms Mathieson, also deputy chairman of the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, once again highlighted the joys of living in the kingdom.
“We are indeed fortunate to live in Bahrain, where we do not simply ‘tolerate’ others who are different from us, but where we warmly embrace each other and understand and celebrate our differences in the spirit of mutual respect and love, and where we truly live as ‘One Family’,” she said.
“This is the true reflection of ‘the humble Bahraini way of life’ ... it is the normal everyday way of living in the multi-cultural multi-faith Kingdom of Bahrain that we all call ‘home’.
“However, with rights, come responsibilities, and it is our responsibility to share our values and way of life, to continue to learn from each other and to inspire and motivate others to follow the centuries-old Bahraini model of peaceful coexistence.”
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