March 6, 2023 was a day of jubilation as it marked the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan and the 20th anniversary of the launching of abouna.org websites. It was a day that unveiled an untold story of successes and achievements led by the founder of the CCSM Fr. Dr. Rif'at Bader who had earlier launched the abouna.org websites in both Arabic and English, such sites that reverberate in the entire world with views that express goodness, faith, love, harmony, and good living. The CCSM has over the years been a center that verily reflects a sublime image of a media outlet being a reliable source of information by various media outlets in the world.
Going back in history, the year 2012 marks a remarkable year in the history of media. It is the day in which the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan was born marking the birth of a new voice that spreads in the world with a message of tolerance and hope. In this year, the Latin Vicariate in Amman endorsed launching a center that preaches genuine affiliation to the homeland, to humanity, and to spreading the divine message of peace called the Catholic Center for Studies and Media.
In that year, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Fouad Twal officially launched the CCSM to serve as a beacon of sincerity, loyalty, and a divine message of love for the homeland, for the noble Jordanians, and for the entire humanity at large.
The CCSM, affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and functioning under the aegis of the Latin Vicariate in Amman, was the brainchild of Fr. Dr. Rif'at Bader. This center, with a handful members of staff, has outshined several media centers worldwide as it has all the time been crossing all borders, and becoming one of the main reliable and genuine sources that conveys a sound image of media based on true judgment, as well as news items and articles that disseminate love, equality, common living and loyalty to the homeland.
The CCSM has made landmark and resounding achievements locally, regionally, and internationally. It fulfills the purpose of enhancing and promoting the intellectual and media movements within the Jordanian society and abroad, while expressing permanent readiness to focus on issues of concern to humanity, commensurate with its slogan, “Media for Humanity through the Culture of Encounter”.
Over the past ten years, the CCSM was able to obtain a firm foothold in the Arab Christian media by being open to the fraternal Churches in a lofty ecumenical spirit, as well as by maintaining cordial relations with religious leaders who regularly contribute by writing articles, and with others who initiate seminars and pastoral activities.
In his address at the ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM), Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa said, "the CCSM, affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate, in addition to abouna websites, and the CCSM Board of Consultation are elements which affirm that the media plays a constructive role and has a civilized message in this life." He also thanked the CCSM members of staff for the message it carries out, whether through daily publications or conferences, seminars, and youth workshops that it holds with the aim of promoting the proper use of media and social media in serving the values of encounter, dialogue, and brotherhood among all human beings.
While Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul, who attended the ceremony, congratulated the CCSM, the abouna websites on their anniversaries, and on naming a new consultation board for the center. He also praised the efforts being exerted, and called for conducting further efforts to continue spreading the message of love, tolerance, and harmony.
While Fr. Dr. Rif'at Bader related the event which led to launching abouna website in 2003 in its capacity as a personal initiative as well as with the technical assistance presented by Christian Hassan Hijazin and Muslim Muhammad Al-Kafaween from Karak as a joint graduation project for Mu'ta University, until it became a website belonging to the Latin Patriarchate during the time when Patriarch Michel Sabbah was in office, and then under the umbrella of the CCSM since its establishment in 2012
He said, "As I look back, I realize that the accomplishments are ineffable. When I was in Beirut two weeks ago and while viewing all the components of the Catholic Churches as well as others of the Middle East, and at a time when everyone was following up abouna.org websites, I felt the great responsibility that these sites have placed on our shoulders."
He pointed out that during all these years, the abouna websites and the CCSM's activities, seminars, and conferences in Jordan and abroad have been media tools operating in this beloved Jordan for the sake of humanity, as well as in the service of brotherhood and the culture of encounter among others through its adoption of an open, human, constructive, and sublime discourse.
What are CCSM's goals?
The CCSM aims at introducing enlightenment in the public opinion, shedding light on the concept of faith, promoting Christian unity in Jordan and worldwide, consolidating the Christian presence in the Middle through the Latin Patriarchate organizations and the churches in general, as well as reinforcing good citizenship based on equality in rights and duties.
The CCSM also strives to strengthen inter-religious dialogue, establish relations with people who live the Diaspora, promote religion in the service of peace, and encourage pilgrimage to Jordan being part of the Holy Land.
The CCSM serves as a regional oasis that disseminates love and understanding among the various components of the Jordanian society. The center has two electronic websites one in Arabic (www.abouna.org) and an English-language website (en.abouna.org). Both sites post news items that reflect local and regional affairs touching on religious and political affairs. The Arabic-language website is intended for Arabic-language speaking people in the region and abroad, while the English-language site targets all those interested to get acquainted with Middle Eastern Christian and global affairs worldwide.
At the Jordanian level, the CCSM held and participated in a number of conferences, seminars and workshops that aim at entrenching peace, solidarity and cooperation. It plays a vital role while concentrating on various local issues, among which are religious freedom as well as the school curricula and their role in promoting harmony.
The CCSM objectives can be summed up in the following points, namely covering of Church news; enlightening the public opinion with human morality through the media; encouraging priests, laymen, and laywomen to express their opinions through publishing their articles, homilies and points of view; promoting the culture of encounter, dialogue, understanding, and cooperation in Jordan, the Holy Land, the East, and the entire world; consolidating the Christian presence in the East; propagating of Arab Christian heritage; promoting good citizenship, based on equality, rights and duties; promoting interaction between followers of different religions, especially Muslim-Christian dialogue; disseminating the culture of religion at the service of peace, justice and human rights; nurturing the proper use of media and the application of media ethics; promoting religious tourism and pilgrimage to the Holy Land, including Jordan, the country of Jesus’ Baptism, promoting care for the environment which is the common home of humanity; and highlighting the activities of the Christian institutions in the Holy Land by helping them attain good media coverage.
CCSM Director Fr. Rif'at Bader has all the times been a hero who acts behind the scenes, while always being the spiritual doctor who instills tranquility, harmony, common living, and love. With words expressing gratitude and appreciation to the sublime role played by the CCSM under his leadership, which embodies exorbitant gracious efforts, the CCSM deserves indefinite support so as to be able to continue its message that exudes pacification and noble messages.
