Jordan. First Stop on Pope Francis’ Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
“Dialogue can lead to beneficial joint action,” said King Abdallah II of Jordan. These simple but incisive words reflect the human and spiritual stature of the king and the entire Hashemite family. He believes strongly in dialogue and spares no effort in practicing it in a part of the world that for decades has faced many challenges concerning tolerance and peace. 
Welcoming Pope Francis is one more concrete demonstration that he wants to establish and strengthen relationships and work together for peace. It is striking to see how this little State that is overwhelmingly Muslim is making every effort to make the Catholic pope feel at home. The streets of Amman are covered with huge posters showing the smiling faces of Francis and Abdalla II shaking hands; and next to their faces an expressive: “maan” (together). A few days ago the Apostolic Nuncio, Giorgio Lingua, enthusiastically affirmed that a real family does things with warmth, with the heart. And we can confirm that none of this is artificial, although it is obvious that the country will benefit both economically and in visibility from the Pope’s visit. But this is a sign of intelligence, not falsehood. Pope Francis could not have begun his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in a more appropriate place! Here is where Pope Paul VI was welcomed in 1964 by King Hussein; and John Paul II in 2000 and Benedict XVI in 2009, by King Abdallah II. These are certainly not rosy days for this region that has already been marked by so much instability. The conflict in Syria has been a shock for the neighbouring countries. It is enough to recall the millions and more Syrian refugees, or the thousands of Iraqi who have recently found secure refuge here. But welcoming all these people in a country that also suffers the lack of water and electricity gives a sense of the generous spirit of the Jordanian people.
http://popevisit.jo/
As the Pope’s visit nears, there is one group in the Holy Land which has no time for stages and flag waving: they are the refugees who were forced to leave their homeland because of the war. Wal Suleiman, the director of Caritas Jordan is here to tell their story: a40-year-old lay member of the Focolare movement who has been sharing the stories and tragedies of those fleeing Syria on a daily basis for the past three years. The President of Caritas Internationalis, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga arrived in Amman just a few days ago, ahead of Pope Francis’ visit, along with the executive committee of the organization that groups together the charity organisations of all episcopal Conferences around the world. Together they are looking at the actions that are being taken in response to the Syrian emergency and also at the serious wounds that remain open. Caritas has been working with the Mafraq refugee camp in Jordan – as well as Zarqa camp which was opened later – since 2012. 
“How many Syrian refugees are there in Jordan? According to government figures there are 1.350.000 people,” Suleiman said. “But you cannot fully understand what this means for us Jordanians if you don’t bear in mind all the rest as well. Palestinian refugees arrived in my country in 1967. Then in the 80s, the Lebanese came and the Iraqis in the 90s. Do you know that in the past two years the number of Egyptians with work permits have doubled? There was an agreement between our two countries, so many of those who fled Cairo because of the violence came here.” This is partly why there will also be poor and disabled Jordanians in the approximately 400-strong delegation that will meet the Pope in Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, the archaeological site which commemorates Jesus’ baptism. By now, it is virtually impossible to separate the different forms of suffering here: “You Jordanians didn’t have a war. But all the devastation in the countries surrounding us have had serious repercussions for us too,” the director of Caritas Jordan said. “I am thinking, for example, of the schools that have classes of 50 pupils or of the enormous difficulties in guaranteeing everyone access to water and electricity. Jordan is suffering too. And we are asking ourselves: What future lies ahead for us?” 