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Amman (Agenzia Fides) - "What Pius XII began continues today with Pope Francis." The Pontifical Mission for Palestine celebrates its Diamond Jubilee in Jordan, commemorating the 75th anniversary of its foundation, marked by prayer. The highlight of the celebrations was the Holy Mass presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan, Archbishop Giampietro Dal Toso, in the church dedicated to Saint Mary of Nazareth in Sweifieh, a neighborhood in the western part of Amman.
The solemn rite, held on the afternoon of July 17, was attended by priests from various churches, deacons and nuns, among others. The director general of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine in Jordan, Raed Al-Baho, was also present, along with the institution's staff. Representatives of various diplomatic corps and a multitude of faithful also attended.
In his homily, translated into Arabic by Father Rifat Bader (director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media), Archbishop Dal Toso praised the work of the Mission, created at the request of Pius XII in order to help the Palestinian people after the Nakba (an expression that means "catastrophe" in Arabic, ed.), that is, the forced exodus of the Palestinian Arab population during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, which occurred after the founding of the State of Israel. At that time, more than 700,000 Palestinians were forced to abandon their cities and towns. The dispute over the fate of these Palestinian refugees and the "right of return" of their descendants remains at the center of the current conflict between Israel and Palestine.
They have been, and continue to be, years of suffering but, as the Nuncio pointed out, "the Lord does not abandon us, and we can see the greatest gift that he has given us, his Son. In Christ there is the proof that God does not abandon us. He sent him to save us". The prelate wanted to highlight that Christ "is the clearest sign that God cares about us."
Following in the footsteps of that love - continued Dal Toso - today we celebrate the fact that 75 years ago the universal Church created a special institution to help the Palestinian people". A suffering "that also included Jordan."
Since then, the Pontifical Mission for Palestine has not stopped providing humanitarian and spiritual assistance to the Palestinians, without forgetting support for the Christian community and all communities in need living in the Holy Land, through cooperation with local Churches, institutions Catholics and international organizations.
The celebration, therefore, takes on not only a festive tone, but also - and above all - one of thanksgiving for the work that the Holy See, at the request of Pope Pacelli, continues throughout the Middle East. "It is a sign - explains Dal Toso - that the Holy See does not forget what is happening here and the difficulties that the storms in this region are going through."
The Nuncio - according to the Abouna.org website - has recalled the continuous efforts, which have increased in recent months, made by both Pope Francis and Vatican diplomacy to "achieve the release of hostages and prisoners, the ceasefire and the end of the war, supporting the Palestinian people with prayer and their right to have a State.
"What Pope Pius XII started continues today with Pope Francis", remarked Dal Toso, who in this regard quoted Paul VI, now a Saint, who fifty years ago said: "The Pontifical Mission is one of the most illustrative signs of the Vatican's concern for the well-being of the Palestinians, who are particularly dear to us." After all, it was precisely the dramatic situation of multitudes of Palestinians after the proclamation of the State of Israel that awakened in Pope Pacelli the desire to create a specific ecclesial body to help them. Hence, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (Cnewa), an organization dependent on the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, was commissioned to create an organization that would offer support to children, families, the sick, elderly and exiles.
And, while at first the Mission was concerned with assisting displaced people and refugees, after the creation of the “United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East” (UNRWA), it adapted its programs to collaborate with the UN to improve the living conditions of Palestinians in refugee camps. In this sense, the Nuncio also recalled the words of Cardinal Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, who a few weeks ago had written: "The Christian communities of the Middle East are a priority for the Holy See." "Your work," the Archbishop said in conclusion, "is the cornerstone of building a peaceful Middle East." (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 18/7/2024)
