http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/world/asia/pope-francis-azerbaijan.html 2016-10-03 03:31:23 Pope Francis Notes Azerbaijan’s Religious Tolerance, Not Rights Abuses The pope focused on diplomacy in meetings with leaders of other faiths, and the nation’s president, later expounding on other topics, like advice for American Catholic voters. === BAKU, Azerbaijan — Francis praised Azerbaijan as a place of religious tolerance, as he met privately with Sheikh ul-Islam, the region’s grand mufti, before the two men held an interreligious meeting at the country’s largest mosque with Orthodox Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders. Alluding to wars in the region, Francis called on religions to “be active agents working to overcome the tragedies of the past and the tensions of the present.” But Francis was silent about the Azerbaijan government’s much-criticized record on civil liberties, human rights and fair elections. Human rights groups have documented numerous abuses, including the imprisonment of journalists and political dissidents, the disbarment of human rights lawyers, and a crackdown on civil society groups. Francis expounded on a few unrelated topics during his customary news conference onboard the papal airliner during the return trip to Rome, including the American presidential election and the issue of gender identity. Asked how he would advise American Catholics in an election in which both major candidates divert from some Catholic teachings — the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, has vilified immigrants and religious minorities — Francis recommended that voters study the candidates’ concrete proposals, pray “and choose in conscience.” Regarding his remarks a day earlier, when he criticized “gender theory,” Francis said he disapproved of schools or textbooks that “indoctrinate” the belief that gender is something a person can choose or change. But he added that the role of a good priest is to accompany someone struggling with these feelings — not to abandon or condemn the person. He also said Jesus would not turn such people away. He noted that last year he received a letter from a Spaniard who had become a man after undergoing gender reassignment surgery and who later married a woman. The man asked the pope if the couple could visit him at the Francis’ short visit to oil-rich Azerbaijan — about 10 hours — was the final stop in his bifurcated tour of the Caucasus, which began with a June visit to Armenia. He returned over the weekend to spend two days in Georgia before arriving on Sunday morning in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan at the edge of the Caspian Sea. In visiting the Caucasus, Francis waded into a region troubled by rivalries and conflict, but one with geopolitical importance as a historic crossroads between East and West. Georgian leaders During his “Our people have faced a humanitarian catastrophe,” President Ilham Aliyev said Sunday afternoon during an appearance with the pope. Francis stuck with broad calls for dialogue, calling for the international community to help mediate, describing himself as “a pilgrim for peace” in the region, and expressing “my heartfelt closeness to those who have had to leave their land and to the many people who suffer the effects of bloody conflicts.” His silence on the Aliyev administration’s record on civil liberties and human rights was noticeable, if perhaps not surprising. He is usually careful to avoid direct criticisms of a government during his international trips, though he does regularly make implicit criticisms. The Roman Catholic Church, officially granted legal recognition by Azeri government in 2011, has fewer than 300 native followers. Mr. Aliyev has faced heavy international criticism for cracking down on free speech and political dissent. One high-profile case involved the journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was What Francis did want to emphasize was the country’s embrace of religious diversity at a time when the Islamic State is slaughtering people in Syria and persecuting Christians and other non-Muslims. “We see the growing emergence of rigid and fundamentalist reactions on the part of those who, through violent words and deeds, seek to impose extreme and radical attitudes which are furthest from the living God,” he said.