We’re only speculating here, but two things spring to mind as what JP2 might have been thinking: 1) The Quran does contain some elements of truth (as well as grave elements of falsehood) and he might have wanted to honor the elements of truth it contains. 2) Showing respect in this way could foster world peace and interreligious harmony.

2018年3月11日 · John Paul II’s kiss of the Koran was a kiss of betrayal — it was the kiss of Judas (cf. Lk 22:47-48; Mt 10:33). Although Francis himself has not kissed the Koran (that we know of), he has certainly endorsed it, at least for Muslims:

On 14 May 1999, Pope John Paul II both bowed to and kissed the Koran. Many have claimed that it was actually a copy of the Chaldean Book of the Gospels, but Archbishop Raphael I Bidawid,...

2024年5月14日 · The Polish church leader received a copy of the Koran as a gift from the Muslim visitors. As a sign of respect, John Paul II kissed the book, which is sacred to Muslims. In an interview with katholisch.de, the Islam expert and Jesuit Felix Körner talks about the gesture 25 years ago and takes a look at the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis.

2006年5月5日 · Pope John Paul II re-affirmed his thinking by kissing the demonic Quran, a cursed book that makes no secret its hatred for Jesus Christ and all his followers. How could the Catholic Pope have come to give such public recognition and …

2010年8月29日 · Although a number of years have passed, many still wonder, why did Pope John Paul II kiss a Koran presented to him? The debate rages on. FATHER JOE: Is it not a book that speaks directly against the Catholic faith? Does it not reduce the Son of God to a mere prophet? Did not the popes of the past demand its burning?

2011年4月15日 · The Koran denies this central tenet of Christian faith. Even more than the assembly in Assisi in 1986, there is a general consensus among critics of Pope John Paul II and of his pontificate, and of Benedict XVI’s decision to beatify John Paul, that this “kiss” was the negative act of John Paul’s life as a Christian, and as a Pope, par ...

2019年6月4日 · This incident, which occurred on 14 May 1999, when Pope St. John Paul II received some Muslim dignitaries, greatly scandalized the traditionalists of that time, the radical Catholic...

Beirut (AsiaNews) - The impression John Paul II made on Muslims is certainly quite positive, so much so that at the time of his death, it was rumoured Egypt that he had converted to Islam and...

1999年5月5日 · We Christians joyfully recognize the religious values we have in common with Islam. Today I would like to repeat what I said to young Muslims some years ago in Casablanca: “We believe in the same God, the one God, the living God, the God who created the world and brings his creatures to their perfection” ( Insegnamenti, VIII/2, [1985], p. 497).