Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan: 'Middle East Christians are not alone'

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"The Middle East would be not the Middle East without the Christians. We should remember the big contribution of Christians to the societies here in Jordan, a contribution that continues."

In an interview with Vatican News in Amman, the Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan, Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, made this observation as he reflected on the historic and long-standing Christian presence in Jordan.

"We do not just have biblical sites where the presence of Christ is confirmed," he explained. "We have also sites where we can see the presence of the very first Christian communities."

The conversation took place after the Archbishop had presented the "Jordan: Dawn of Christianity" exhibit on Wednesday.

Q: Your Excellency, could you explain for the faithful the importance of the 'Jordan: Dawn of Christianity' exhibition that will debut in the Vatican later this month?

I would say the title of the exhibition already speaks for itself with 'the dawn:' the dawn of Christianity that we have here in Jordan. We do not just have biblical sites where the presence of Christ is confirmed; we also have sites where we can see the presence of the very first Christian communities. Thus, here in Jordan, there is a continuity through all these centuries, a continuity of the presence of the Christian communities here in this country.

The exhibition would like to highlight exactly this presence. This is important, especially for our Western part of the world, to know that Jordan keeps this treasure and to know, better, that the Christian presence here in Jordan was always there, and that Christian communities belong to the Middle East, belong to the Arab culture like other religions. Therefore, I hope this exhibition will also help the West to understand better what the nature and history of the Middle East are.

Q: As Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan, how would you say the Christian communities here are doing at this time, even on an emotional level, having the war certainly not in Jordan, which is a stable, peaceful State, but having it nearby?

Of course, we have some consequences due to the war, and especially because a good part of the population here has Palestinian origins. Many of them have their relatives on the other side of the Jordan. And of course, they feel, much more, the tragedy of the war. Every war is a tragedy, but the closeness lets us experience all this in a more tragic way.

Our hope is that peace will come as soon as possible. And I must say the words of the Holy Father: Pope Francis underlined the importance of peace, the importance of looking for dialogue in order to achieve peace, in order to achieve a peaceful future for the whole region.

These words of the Holy Father were most appreciated and will have, for sure, an impact here in the Middle East and especially in this Kingdom. Of course, we hope that his words will be heard by many people so that we can soon achieve peace.

Q: Pope Francis has made countless appeals for peace and spoke of peace also in his letter to Cardinal Parolin, his upcoming visit for the consecration of the church at the Baptism site. The Pope always voices his and the Church's prayers for peace and closeness to those suffering in the region. How does the upcoming consecration of the church at the Baptism site represent the much larger reality of the Church's closeness to Christians in the Middle East and their hope that they can stay in the Middle East?

I would say the visit of Cardinal [Secretary of State Pietro] Parolin, the consecration of this new church, his being here as a papal legate, of course, underlines the importance of the site, because this is the baptismal site; this can remind every one of us of our baptism. But at the same time, I think this visit is very important also as a sign of closeness to the local Church, to the Christians here in the Middle East, and that they are not alone.

They are not alone. We really care; the Holy See really cares for the Christian communities, because the Middle East would not be the Middle East without Christians. We should remember the big contribution of Christians to the societies here in Jordan, a contribution that continues.

If we think, for example, of how many non-Christians go to Christian schools, to Catholic schools especially, this is a contribution to society which continues. This is why it is important that we are aware of our role here in the Middle East and that we are aware that the universal Church is supporting our role here in the Middle East.

Q: Christians can learn a lot at the exhibition, obviously, but for those who want to see with their own eyes Christianity in Jordan, is it a time for pilgrims to think of visiting Jordan, or is this something, especially in the Jubilee of Hope, that they should put on their radar?

Jordan is a very welcoming country, and I'm sure that Jordan is a place to be visited exactly in this Holy Year, because visiting the holy sites can bring a renewal to our faith, and this is also the aim of the Holy Year.

The Holy Year invites Christians to renew their faith, and, of course, one of the best ways to renew our faith is to have direct contact with the places where this faith was born.