Fr. Rif'at Bader, director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan, has made the following press statement titled, "This is Why His Majesty King Abdullah II is Heading to the Vatican". The statement is in reaction to the impending visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II to the Vatican, on Tuesday, December 19, where discussions will cover the developments related to Jerusalem, after the United States’ decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy there:
His Majesty King Abdullah II Ben Al Hussein is heading to the Holy See in two days. This is not the first visit by His Majesty to the Holy See, as it was preceded by two visits. The first one was in 2013 and it was designed to congratulate Pope Francis on his election. The second visit was prior to Pope Francis' visit to the Holy Land in May 2014 where the first leg of the visit was to Jordan.
In a press statement following the announcement of His Majesty's upcoming visit to the Vatican, he said: "After 13 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Jordan and the Holy See, Jordan is proud to be the scene of four papal visits, namely by Pope Paul VI in 1964, Pope John Paul II in 2000, Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 and Pope Francis in 2014. Furthermore, following several visits paid by the late His Majesty King Hussein and by His Majesty King Abdullah to the Vatican, this visit which is designed to meet with the head of the Catholic Church takes place amidst extraordinary circumstances and events that closely concern the two sides.
It is the issue of noble Jerusalem, it is the issue of sanctities, and it is the issue of the Hashemite inheritance of the Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy places. It is the cause of a Palestinian people who have been suffering for decades, and that aspires to attaining reconciliation, even to achieving full independence on their national soil by establishing their independent national state on their Palestinian territories with Jerusalem as its capital.
Following the King's historic address at the extraordinary conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation which convened in Istanbul last week where he said that Jerusalem is in the heart of every Christian and every Muslim; furthermore, after the Holy See's denunciation of any harm that could be inflicted on Jerusalem because it is a unique city from a historical, cultural, social, political, and religious point of view, the Vatican stated that the status quo of Jerusalem should not be changed and that it must be preserved. The Holy See also stated that the United Nations resolutions relevant to this unique city should be taken into consideration.
During his visit to Jerusalem, the Holy Father stood in front of the Dome of the Rock--which is not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and to which the King made donations to restore the empty tomb within it-- and underlined the sacred right of all the children of Abraham who belong to the religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism to pray in this city. He also noted that they need to have open and religiously free sites. He added that Jerusalem must also be holy and protected by two peoples, not by one people, and not be affected by a political decision taken tens of thousands of miles away which states that Jerusalem became Jewish or the capital of Israel.
Our hearts are with His Majesty the King, particularly at this historic meeting with His Holiness Pope. This meeting takes place a few days before Christmas celebrations. It is hoped that His Holiness the Pope would say on Christmas eve and on Christmas day, a few days before the start of the new year 2018, that no one should monopolize Jerusalem or even claim it for electoral or premiership purposes since Jerusalem is holy and will remain so.
Therefore, His Majesty the King's fourth impending meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis will be dedicated to a diplomacy that has become the focus of attention and appreciation of the entire world. It is the diplomacy of wisdom and the diplomacy of decision-making designed to serve the people and unite them, rather than undermine the good relations and friendships among the different peoples in this unique region.
The CCSM director concluded his statement by saying: We plead with God to help His Majesty the King in his endeavor to convey the suffering of Jerusalem and the world to the international forums, and to help His Holiness Pope Francis to say something that can be added to what he had said in favor of the oppressed, the persecuted, and the pained as well as the people whose territories were occupied while they aspire to live in peace, tranquility and independence as is the case with the other peoples on Earth.
O Pope Francis, His Majesty the King: May God bless your endeavors for humans and humanity as well as for noble Jerusalem which unites us more than ever before in these difficult days. May God protect you, and keep all those who work for the good, tranquility and peace of the entire humanity.
