Moments before the arrival of Pope Francis to the United States, there was a plebiscite on the Facebook page of abouna.org. The question was: "What do you expect the Pope to say? What do you want him to say?'' There were variant responses. For those living in safe and stable homelands, they requested further justice, freedoms and continued stability in their countries. While the displaced and the refugees asked the Pope to make great efforts to achieve unconditional end to the daily bloodshed and destruction in their countries. They also, regrettably, demanded Pope's help to open the gates of the Western countries for them so that they could free themselves from areas of conflict, despite the fact that these countries are far away from their original homelands, where their fathers and forefathers lived.
Actually, Pope Francis was not apprised of these comments, but his impressive speeches particularly at the US Congress and at the UN General Assembly conveyed the aspirations of the people, since people aspire, nowadays, to live in a world where love and cordiality prevail among all peoples as both are part of the "global agendas'' that cannot await postponement.
Pope Francis realized that there were leaders from the Middle East among those who listened to his speech… the Middle East that bears the brunt of tragedies and holiness. Some of these leaders who were seated in the front seats were delighted because their countries are stable while others had a pall of disappointment hung over them. Why? Because they probably cannot express themselves using the same humane expressions, and because they know that peoples are being incinerated, that countries are being abolished, and that their consciences are dormant. The Pope "came to breathe life into the humane conscience", as the US president said earlier.
Has he actually awakened the consciences?
On the day following his address at the US Congress, US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation. Is the Pope's visit related to this resignation? This argument could be valid because the Pope calls for harmony between what the leaders call for on the one hand and what they experience in their lives on the other. It could be that he was asked to pass decrees that contradict the good words he had heard from the head of the Catholic Church, at a time when he himself is Catholic. So, it could be that in moments reflecting sincerity he decided to step down. This is just a simple analysis, yet the reason for his stepping down could be something else.
The Middle East citizens hope that there will be a follow-up to the Pope's words and the seeds he has sown. He said at a Prayer Vigil for the 8th World Meeting of Families: Always seek whatever is "true, good and beautiful.'' We hope that these three values, namely truth, goodness and beauty will prevail in the societies where we live. We hope that the world will harvest the goodness that the Pope has sown in the US territories, which will consequently contribute to having a world where love, cordiality, justice, and peace prevail. "Peace to our homes, families, schools and societies. Peace in the areas where wars spread out of control, peace to this world which God had given us as a home to everyone."
His Holiness the Pope sowed the seeds. Now, it is our duty to contribute to having these seeds germinate and produce a good yield particularly by not having crimes committed in the name of God or in the name of religion. When the Pope prayed at Ground Zero Memorial in New York, he called for love and cordiality rather than grudge, revenge and strife.
I recall what the Jordanian family said in its testimony in the name of the participants from Asia at the great gathering of families: "May we all share each other’s burdens so that our loads become lighter, and peace and love can prevail.''
