POPE FRANCIS: Interfaith service includes Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists & Jews

The Washington Archdiocese released this photo on Instagram when Pope Francis

visited St. Patrick Cathedral's food program during lunch.

IT SHOULD be noted for readers of this blog - written from and Asian/American perspective - that Jesus Christ was an Asian. As a matter of fact, most of the world's major religions find their origins in Asia.

I mention this because Pope Francis is going to participate in an ecumenical service at the site of the former World Trade Center, also known as Ground Zero.

Religious leaders and representatives from Buddhist, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faiths, will join the pope on Thursday (Sept. 25) at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Part of Pope Francis’ two-day visit to New York City in memory of those who died as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

RELATED: Words of wisdom and compassion.

“The pope understands the power of faith or religion as an instrument of peace, as opposed to division or strife,” said Rabbi Elliot J. Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue. “To participate in an interreligious gathering which affirms that, whatever our differences may be, we are children of the same God, is an extraordinary statement.”

Among the leaders who will offer prayers to honor the victims of Sept. 11, 2001 are Dr. Satpal Singh, a survivor of 1984 religious anti-Sikh violence in India and professor at CUNY Buffalo School of Medicine; Yasuko Niwano of Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Center of New York; Dr. Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu Temple Society of North America; Bhante Hennbunne Konda, a Sri Lankan Buddhist Monk; and Imam Khalid Latif, executive director of the Islamic Center at New York University.

Dr. Satpal Singh

"Pope Francis sends a significant message by sharing this service with minority communities, such as Sikh Americans, that have been the target of post-9/11 racial violence," Dr. Gunisha Kaur, a Sikh-American leader and anesthesiologist who will take part in the multi-religious gathering, told NBC News. "Being on stage alongside such an incredible individual gives us an opportunity to demonstrate that we all belong to the same collective family and that we have many shared experiences that unite us. As a Sikh, New Yorker, and physician specializing in global health work, this message is powerful."

Satpal Singh, a Buffalo-based leader of the Sikh community, is hoping to use the moment on Sept. 25 as a way to educate the wider public about the Sikh faith. His prayer would reflect the point that “our actions speak,” he said.

“God expects all of us to love each other irrespective of what our outward beliefs and what our affiliations are,” said Dr. Satpal Singh a leader of the Sikh community in New York. Sikhs have been targeted by hate crimes since 9/11 because of the turbans and beards that they wear as part of their religion. “That’s the important message that has to come through this forum.”

After speaking to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Pope Francis passed up an opportunity to lunch with Washington's political leaders so he could visit a soup kitchen sponsored by the nearby St. Patricks' Catholic Church where he met and talked with the homeless in attendance.

The visit was symbolic of Pope Francis' desire to reach out to the margins and care for the poor and disenfranchised. Since he began his papacy, the Vatican opened new shower facilities in St. Peter's Square where people can get free haircuts and a shave. The Vatican is also building a homeless shelter in Rome, just outside the Vatican's walls.

After the 9/11 service in New York, he will visit the Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem. He’ll round out his stay with a 20,000-strong massat Madison Square Garden where he is expected to say more on peace and justice before heading to Philadelphia early Saturday. While in the City of Brotherly Love, he will give a major address on immigration at Independence Mall and visit prisoners and some of their families at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.

###