Pope’s Easter plea for peace

Decrying modern “wounds that disfigure humanity,” Pope Benedict XVI used a rain-soaked Easter Sunday to make a plea for the “moderation and forgiveness” that can bring peace to troubled parts of the world, especially the Middle East and Tibet.

And he praised the ongoing “miracle” of conversions, just 12 hours after baptizing as a Roman Catholic one of Italy’s most controversial Muslims.

Tens of thousands of umbrella-toting pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square to hear the pope’s Easter Mass as Christians around the world celebrated their holiest day, when they believe Jesus was resurrected.

Injustice, hatred and violence “are the scourges of humanity, open and festering in every corner of the planet,” the pope said in his traditional twice-a-year “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message at the end of the Mass.

He urged Tibet, Africa and the Middle East to “seek solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good.”

Cold wind whipped priests’ cassocks and the brightly colored tulips decorating the piazza, and rain drenched worshipers, diplomats and the feather plumes of the Swiss Guards. The pope was protected by a white canopy over the altar.

But perhaps the most unusual element of the Easter celebration was the attention being showered on the conversion from Islam to Christianity of Magdi Allam, a prominent Egyptian-born Italian newspaper editor and columnist.

Benedict, who baptized Allam at Saturday night’s Easter vigil service, said a prayer during Sunday’s ceremony that acclaimed the “miracle” of conversions, which he noted first populated the Christian faith.

Allam, 55, has attained celebrity status in Italy with his provocative critiques of Islam, especially radical Islam, and defense of Israel, positions that he says brought him death threats and earned him a government-supplied security detail.

By his own account, Allam was never a practicing Muslim, was raised by Catholics, is married to a Catholic and has lived most of his life in Italy. So his embrace of Catholicism was not surprising, although the Vatican kept his baptism a secret until the last minute.

In a letter he published Sunday in his newspaper, Corriere della Sera, Allam said he chose to convert after a “gradual and profound internal meditation” in which he concluded he had to abandon Islam.

“Beyond . . . the phenomenon of extremists and Islamic terrorism at the world level, the root of evil is inherent in an Islam that is physiologically violent and historically conflictual,” he wrote.

Allam wrote that he realized he was probably dooming himself to “another death sentence” but said his baptism at the pope’s hand was “the most beautiful day of my life.” He added that he was taking a new middle name: Cristiano, or Christian.

Showcasing Allam’s renunciation of Islam is risky for the pope, in part because it may inflame sentiment in the Muslim world, an area in which Benedict has attempted to open frank but conciliatory dialogue. Already, the pope has been threatened by Islamic radicals, including in a newly issued message last week in which Osama bin Laden accused the pontiff of mounting a “new crusade” against Islam.

In addition, the Catholic Church’s interest in converting non-Christians, a sometimes violent process historically, remains a point of contention with other mainstream faiths.

A leader of one of Italy’s main moderate Muslim organizations said Sunday that he was perplexed by Allam’s decision. It was not necessary to convert to have good relations with Catholics, Sergio Yahe Pallavicini said.

The Vatican defended the featuring of Allam’s conversion at the Easter eve ceremony inside St. Peter’s Basilica, when he was baptized alongside six other adults. The pope poured water on Allam’s head as the television cameras zoomed in.

“The Holy Father administers baptism during the Easter liturgy . . . without differentiating among people, considering them all of equal importance,” the Vatican said in a statement.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who heads the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, also sought to downplay the matter.

“For whomever knocks, the door of the church is always open,” he told the Italian news service Apcom. “Freedom of conscience is a fundamental right.”

Freedom of worship and to choose one’s faith are important elements in the pope’s pursuit of interreligious relations. Religious freedom was also a theme in the weeklong Easter celebrations.

The pope chose outspoken Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen to write the meditations for Good Friday’s Stations of the Cross procession. Zen spoke of the suffering of China’s Catholic minority and referred to today’s “living martyrs” who endure “the dark hour of persecution.”

And the pope has mentioned Tibet twice: In addition to Sunday’s call for peace, he used Wednesday’s general audience to express “sadness and pain” over violent protests against Chinese rule in Tibet.

He urged Chinese and Tibetans to show “courage to choose the path of dialogue and tolerance.”

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wilkinson@latimes.com