Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan: ‘Middle East Christians are not alone’
In an interview with Vatican News in Amman, Mgr Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan, reflects on the rich history of Jordanian Christians, which continues to enrich the Christian community in the Middle East.
Deborah Castellano Lubov
“The Middle East would not be the Middle East without Christians. We must remember the great contribution of Christians to societies here in Jordan, a contribution that continues.”
In an interview with Vatican News in Amman, the Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan, Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, made the observation while reflecting on the historic and long-standing Christian presence in Jordan.
“We don’t just have biblical sites where the presence of Christ is confirmed,” he explained. “We also have sites where we can see the presence of the very first Christian communities.”
The conversation took place after the archbishop presented the exhibition “Jordan: The Dawn of Christianity” on Wednesday.
Q: Your Excellency, could you explain to the faithful the importance of the “Jordan: The Dawn of Christianity” exhibition that will debut at the Vatican later this month?
I would say that the title of the exhibition already speaks for itself with “the dawn”: the dawn of Christianity that we have here in Jordan. We not only have biblical sites where the presence of Christ is confirmed; we also have sites where we can see the presence of the very first Christian communities. So, here in Jordan, there is a continuity through all these centuries, a continuity of the presence of Christian communities here in this country.
The exhibition wishes to highlight this presence. It is important, especially for our western part of the world, to know that Jordan holds this treasure and to know, even better, that the Christian presence here in Jordan has always been there, and that Christian communities belong to the Middle East, belong to Arab culture like other religions. So I hope that this exhibition will also help the West better understand the nature and history of the Middle East.
Q: As apostolic nuncio to Jordan, how would you say the Christian communities here are doing right now, even emotionally, given that the war is certainly not in Jordan, which is a state stable and peaceful, but close?
Of course, we have consequences because of the war, and especially because a good part of the population here is of Palestinian origin. Many of them have relatives on the other side of the Jordan. And of course, they feel the tragedy of war much more. Every war is a tragedy, but proximity allows us to experience it all in a more tragic way.
We hope that peace will return as soon as possible. And I must repeat the words of the Holy Father: Pope Francis stressed the importance of peace, the importance of seeking dialogue to achieve peace, to achieve a peaceful future for the entire region.
These words of the Holy Father were much appreciated and will certainly have an impact here in the Middle East and especially in this Kingdom. Of course, we hope that his words will be heard by many people so that we can soon achieve peace.
Q: Pope Francis has made countless appeals for peace and also spoke of peace in his letter to Cardinal Parolin during his upcoming visit for the consecration of the church at the baptismal site. The Pope always expresses his prayer and that of the Church for peace and closeness to those who suffer in the region. How does the upcoming dedication of the church at the baptism site represent the much broader reality of the Church’s closeness to Middle Eastern Christians and their hope that they may remain in the Middle East ?
I would say that the visit of Cardinal (Secretary of State Pietro) Parolin, the consecration of this new church, his presence here as a papal legate, of course highlights the importance of the place, because it is the place of baptism; it can remind each of us of our baptism. But at the same time, I think this visit is very important also as a sign of closeness with the local Church, with Christians here in the Middle East, and as a sign that they are not alone.
They are not alone. We really care; The Holy See truly cares about Christian communities, because the Middle East would not be the Middle East without Christians. We must remember the great contribution of Christians to societies here in Jordan, a contribution that continues.
If we think, for example, of the number of non-Christians who attend Christian schools, particularly Catholic schools, it is a contribution to society that continues. This is why it is important that we are aware of our role here in the Middle East and that we are aware that the universal Church supports our role here in the Middle East.
Q: Christians can obviously learn a lot at the exhibition, but for those who want to see Christianity in Jordan with their own eyes, is this the time for pilgrims to think about visiting Jordan, or is it something thing, especially on the occasion of the Jubilee of I hope they should put it on their radar?
Jordan is a very welcoming country, and I am sure that it is a place to visit precisely in this Holy Year, because visiting the holy places can bring renewal to our faith, and this is also the aim of the Holy year.
The Holy Year invites Christians to renew their faith and, of course, one of the best ways to renew our faith is to have direct contact with the places where that faith was born.