A number of bishops visited our beloved Kingdom a few days ago. They were acquainted with the roles played by the local Church institutions in the spiritual, cultural, charity fields and others.
After taking part in several meetings, I found nothing more expressive than using the title, “The Jordanian open-door policy” to represent this visit and other visits carried out by delegations to our region on daily bases. It could be Jordan’s fate, or rather its choice, to be open to all shades of the world, with regards to cooperation and humanitarian partnership which are being recognized by the world countries. The bishops who came from the Unites States of America, Canada, the European countries and South Africa have realized and established, in cooperation with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, an institution whose mission is “cooperation for the sake of the Holy Land”. They do realize that Jordan is part of this very land, which is why they chose to come to Jordan after visiting Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Jerusalem, Gaza and other cities of the Holy Land which are still suffering and are looking forward to security and independence.
On their visit to Jordan, they had a comprehensive view of the development attained by our educational institutions which are supervised by the Catholic Churches. They were also apprised of the offers made by Caritas Jordan, or Jordanian Love, which has become a daily expression of solidarity, support and sympathy with the needy families or the forcibly displaced brethren from Iraq, and Syria. They also had the chance to meet with several displaced families with whom they prayed and shared a meal.
The objective of the visit undertaken by the bishops can be summarized in three words, namely prayer, pilgrimage and pressure. Prayer was in the places which cause human pains, namely in Palestine which is still occupied. The bishops prayed in Gaza and in Beit Jala before the serpentine separation wall. They also saw how the olive trees were uprooted by the occupation forces.
In Jordan, they prayed so that the Almighty God would keep this country safe and stable. They also prayed with the forcibly displaced brethren hoping that security would be restored to Iraq and Syria. They also listened to the displaced who said: “We are safe, but we seek radical solutions.”
As for pilgrimage to the Holy places, the bishops could urge their citizens upon their return home on the need to promote religious tourism to Jordan and Palestine in support of the tourism sector which has regrettably been retreating over the past years. The visit, this year, did not include this time any meeting with an official tourism officials as we had wished.
As for pressure, it is triggered by the need to form forces to urge decision-makers to seriously work for peace and justice, as well as to help Jordan tackle the requirements and ramifications of the open-door policy, and find “radical” solutions to the escalating refugee problem.
What is great in this issue is that on the day when the Catholic bishops--who are affiliated with the Pope’s authority--were holding their press conference in Jordan and talking about “the Jordanian open-door policy”, Pope Francis met with the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See. He told them, “I feel obliged to express gratitude for all initiatives aimed at providing a dignified reception to the forcibly displaced and refugees. I also have in mind Jordan which has not closed its borders despite the fact that it already harbors hundreds of thousands of refugees.”
The open-door policy, a choice, a fate… but a source of pride.
