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Reuters

Business

Sylvia Westall and Stephen Kalin

In packed churches and secret masses, papal visit brings Gulf Catholics hope

FILE PHOTO: An expat bishop delivers a mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

DUBAI/RIYADH (Reuters) - In Dubai's overflowing churches and Riyadh's secretive masses, Catholics across the Gulf are eagerly awaiting Pope Francis' historic visit to the United Arab Emirates next week.

They hope the first ever trip by a pope to the Arabian Peninsula will foster greater acceptance for its two million expatriate Catholics, many from India and the Philippines.

FILE PHOTO: Expat worshippers pray during the mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics in the Gulf are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

They want better transport to UAE churches and permission to build them at all in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia.

The trip comes as the UAE makes a push to show it is a country tolerant of other religions and at a time of social reform elsewhere in the Gulf.

The visit would reflect "what the UAE has always been: a cradle of diversity, centred between East and West, connecting people, religions, goods, and cultures," said a UAE government spokesman, Jaber Al Lamki.

FILE PHOTO: An expat worshipper wears a shirt with St. Rita's picture at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 25, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan invited the pontiff after meeting him at the Vatican in 2016. Lamki said the visit was "unsurprising" given the number of Catholics in the UAE and it had taken time to plan it.

The Vatican says the trip will focus on inter-religious dialogue and peace.

"It will help the Gulf and the whole world understand there should be respect for each religion," said Claudia Rumie, a maths tutor from Colombia.

FILE PHOTO: Expat worshippers hold each others hands during the mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

She attends mass near Dubai's Jebel Ali port in a church on a compound with houses of worship from other faiths and will be among the 120,000 Catholics attending the pope's mass in a sports stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Most UAE citizens are Sunni Muslims, but foreigners, often working in offices, schools, homes and constructions sites, outnumber locals by around nine to one. Around half the Gulf's Catholics live in the UAE.

Priests, worshippers and two diplomats said that while the UAE is already the most tolerant Gulf country towards faiths other than Islam, there are restrictions.

FILE PHOTO: The expat bishop walks between the worshippers during the mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

The authorities forbid unsanctioned religious gatherings and non-Muslims must not proselytize, according to the law. Churches do not ring bells and do not display visible cross, according to church building agreements, church officials say.

Land for building houses of worship is limited so there are only nine Catholic churches in the UAE. Pews are packed at the weekend, with parishioners spilling outside where mass is sometimes broadcast on screens.

Father Reinhold Sahner, the German parish priest of St Francis church in Dubai said some parishioners have long bus journeys to church.

FILE PHOTO: Expat worshippers pray during the mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

"It is good that the pope comes and knows about our realities, he knows also about our difficulties," Sahner said.

SECURITY CHECKPOINT

FILE PHOTO: The expat bishop puts on the robe before starting the mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Although the pope will only go to the UAE, his visit is being watched closely by Catholics elsewhere in the peninsula, who are also hoping for more acceptance.

In Qatar churches are allowed but Catholics say they feel restricted outside their place of worship.

Qatar's first Catholic church, the 3,000-seat Church of our Lady of the Rosary, was built in 2008 in a walled-off compound known as the Religious Complex, on the southern outskirts of the capital. It has a permanent security checkpoint.

FILE PHOTO: An expat worshipper prays at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

"We are free and can celebrate mass, but the condition is that you can only do these things inside the complex," said parish priest Rally Gonzaga.

The Qatari foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Churches are also allowed in Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain but in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, they are banned.

FILE PHOTO: The statue of St. Joseph is seen at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE, January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Some Catholics in Riyadh attend mass in private homes and embassies, where they say their presence is monitored but largely ignored by authorities.

The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

One worshipper said he gave the compound gatekeeper a password to attend a regular embassy service.

FILE PHOTO: Expat worshippers pray in front of St. Mary's shrine at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Oud Metha, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

"It's kind of secure and protected but I don't talk about it with my colleagues," he said.

Recent outreach by Saudi Arabia to Christian representatives has given Christians hope for change.

Last year King Salman met the head of the Vatican's pontifical council for inter-religious dialogue in Riyadh. Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch also visited to discuss religious tolerance and combating extremism, according to Saudi state media.

FILE PHOTO: Expat children hold the candles while serving during the mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised to promote interfaith dialogue as part of his domestic reforms.

He said he wants “middle-of-the-road, moderate Islam open to the world and all religions, traditions and people”. He met the head of the Anglican church in London last year and also visited Egypt's largest Coptic cathedral.

Catholic Toni El-Rahi, who moved to Saudi Arabia from Lebanon in 1994, says attitudes among regular Saudis are shifting with the reforms.

FILE PHOTO: An expat worshipper helps the boy to clean in front of St. Mary's Shrine at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 18, 2019. REUTERSAhmed Jadallah

"They also have to go with the flow," he said.

Catholics don't feel comfortable wearing crosses, he says. But his family allowed media to photograph Christian iconography at their home and he no longer fears the religious police whose wings have been clipped to loosen strict morality rules.

FILE PHOTO: A worshipper prays at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali, as Catholics are awaiting a historical visit by Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, UAE January 25, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

(Additional reporting by Eric Knecht in Doha, Stanley Carvalho in Abu Dhabi, Reuters Television in Dubai and Philip Pullella in Vatican City; editing by Anna Willard)