(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) ABU DHABI, 3rd May, 2020 (WAM) -- His Holiness, Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, and His Eminence Dr. Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, have welcomed the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity's call to pray for humanity on Thursday, 14th May.

On Facebook, Dr. el-Tayeb said, "I welcome the noble humanitarian call made by the committee to invite people around the world to pray, supplicate for the good of all humanity and do good for the sake of Allah Almighty, in order to lift this pandemic off us and the entire world."

"I invite everyone to participate in this call, and to pray sincerely to Allah Almighty to lift this blight for people and to inspire scientists to find a cure that can turn back this disease," he added.

In turn, Pope Francis said, "Because prayer is a universal value, I welcome the committee's call to believers of all faiths to be spiritually united on 14th May, a day of prayer, fasting and charitable work, to pray to God to help humankind overcome the coronavirus pandemic," he added.

"Remember, on 14th May, believers of different faiths will unite to pray, fast and perform charitable work," he added.

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