Today the only Christians in the Arabian Peninsula are migrants, and the pope’s visit is a cause of great joy for them.

Pope Francis will visit Abu Dhabi to attend an international interfaith meeting on “Human Fraternity,” organized by Muslim leaders, and will celebrate Mass for migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates.

"By beatifying our 19 brothers and sisters, the church wishes to bear witness to her desire to continue to work for dialogue, harmony and friendship."

Confronted with a political candidate’s Islamophobic language, the author chose not to walk away or to pounce in anger, but to reach across a divide.

Francis is the first pope to visit the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, a majority-Muslim country of 10 million people.

Fearing reprisals from militant groups, Britain shies away from offering asylum to Asia Bibi, a Catholic woman whose death sentence for blasphemy against Islam has been thrown out by judges in Pakistan.