On August 27, 2026, the websites of Abouna “The Human Person, the heart of Media” marks its 23rd anniversary. On August 27, 2003, at 5:30pm, Jordan local time, the website went online, carrying from its very first moment a clear mission, namely that the media should serve the human person, the Church, the nation, as well as the values of love, dialogue, and peace.
Twenty-three years of continuous work invite us today to look back thanking God for all that has been accomplished, and to look forward to the future with hope, optimism, and faith that the mission which began more than two decades ago is still capable of renewal and of attaining continued achievement.
When Abouna website was launched in 2003, Jordan’s electronic media was still in its early stages, and this website was among the first Jordanian websites to enter this new digital space. Its launching coincided with the early launching of online news websites in the Kingdom, such as Ammon News (the first electronic news website in Jordan), at a time when digital journalism was still finding its way and would, only a few years later, become an essential part of the Jordanian and Arab media landscape.
Since the very beginning, Abouna website did not want to be merely one dedicated to reporting news, but rather one with an identity and a mission. From this premise, came the slogan that has accompanied it and become the title of its journey: “The Human Person, the heart of Media.” The human person is the ultimate goal, while media is a means of serving it, safeguarding its dignity, upholding truth, as well as building bridges of communication, love, and understanding among people.
Throughout these years, this website has followed the news of the Church in Jordan, in the Holy Land, and around the world. It has also conveyed Jordan’s image and message abroad, while paying attention to Muslim-Christian dialogue, common living, culture, humanitarian issues, peace, and human dignity. It has also sought to offer responsible and balanced media discourse stemming from the values of the Gospel, while remaining open to the human person, society, and the nation.
In 2012, Abouna website entered a new stage in its procession when it joined the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, becoming one of the media instruments serving the Latin Patriarchate and the Latin Patriarchal Vicariate in Jordan within a comprehensive ecclesial, national, and humanitarian mission.
From this premise, as we remember this procession, it is our duty to express gratitude and appreciation, to thank the Latin Patriarchate for hosting it as a mother, teacher, and institution, and for supporting this mission as one of its media arms. We also extend our gratitude to various staff members and employees, whether full-time or part-time ones at the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, which has supported Abouna website and provided it with the institutional framework necessary to continue and develop its mission.
Gratitude is also conveyed to the correspondents in Jordan and abroad, as well as to writers, editors, photographers, and followers, and to everyone who works day and night, both at home and abroad, so that the word may remain present, the news may remain fresh, and the mission may continue.
On this occasion, we not only wish to focus so much on individual names, inasmuch as to celebrate a collective journey and an ongoing mission. Many people have taken turns serving this mission, and everyone has left one’s own mark, contribution and effort. What has been achieved over 23 years is the fruit of accumulated dedication, love, and faith in the importance of media and its role.
Today, “Abouna” is no longer confined to its main website as its mission has extended into the interactive digital media sphere through various social media platforms, foremost among them Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, in addition to the interactive WhatsApp group “Friends of Abouna.” This provides a direct space for communication with readers and followers, the exchange of news, as well as engagement with the website’s mission and content.
Perhaps the name “Friends of Abouna” captures much of the meaning of this journey. We do not regard those who follow the website and its pages as mere numbers or views, but as friends and partners in the mission. We engage with them, and they share with us the word, the image, the news, and the idea.
Today, we look toward to the future with optimism and hope. We build on what has been attained, and move forward relying on the mercy of the Lord and on the good efforts being exerted by the Latin Patriarchate and the Catholic Center, as well as by all the members of staff, correspondents, writers, editors, friends, and followers.
The future holds major challenges before media. The world in which Abouna was launched in 2003 is not the same media world in which we live in 2026. Social media outlets, smartphones, digital platforms, and now artificial intelligence have transformed the concept, tools, and speed of media, but they have not changed the essence of its mission and responsibility.
Perhaps today, the human person has become more in need than ever of respectful media; of a sincere word amid the bustling information; of reliable news amid the flood of stories; and of discourse that brings people together rather than divides them, builds rather than demolishes, and sows hope instead of fear and hatred.
We, in Jordan, are also looking ahead to a major national, ecclesial, and humanitarian milestone that is approaching, namely the year 2030, marking the 2,000th anniversary of the Baptism of Lord Jesus Christ in the blessed waters of the Jordan River. It is the duty of Christian media,including Abouna website and the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, to contribute to introducing this occasion and Jordan, in its capacity as the land of the Baptism and the Holy Land, to the world, and to convey to the world the message of our country as a message of love, peace, harmony, and common living.
We thank God for all that has gone by, and we thank the Latin Patriarchate for its support. We also thank the Catholic Center for Studies and Media, and everyone who has worked and continues to work, everyone who has written, contributed, followed, read, encouraged, and shared, and every friend who has carried this mission with us.
We look to the future with gratitude for the legacy of Pope Francis, and this time of Pope Leo XIV, who is once again bringing back the richness of Augustinian thought to the fore. With Saint Augustine, we say: “Where there is love, either there is no pain or the pain itself is loved.” And we wish to continue this journey in the spirit of the call that Pope Leo has addresses to those working in the media: that our media be “disarmed and disarming”; that it neither fuels conflict nor turns words into weapons, but instead serves truth and the human person, builds bridges, and sows the seeds peace.
