Ecumenical import

For his visit to the Holy Land Pope Francis inaugurated a new diplomacy that crosses political protocols and reaches straight out to the hearts, in the belief that peace is not just the result of international treaties, but rather a human endeavour that is developed day after day. It’s diplomacy for peace that needs to be nourished by great perspectives. For this reason Pope Francis wanted near him in this delicate and complex trip his two Argentinian friends, rabbi Abraham Skorka and his Muslim friend Omar Abboud. With them he went to the holy sites and to the institutional seats of the two great religions of Judaism and Islam. They shared a long and moving embrace before the “Wailing Wall” sending a powerful message of friendship and kinship to the heart of the tormented Middle East. It was an embrace between the representatives of the three religions of the Book, that here became a prelude of hope for the encounter of prayer for peace that in a few days will be held in the “home” of the Pope with presidents Shimon Peres and Abu Mazen. The message to Muslims. May 26 opened sipping a coffee with the Great Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, at the Supreme Muslim Council on the Temple Mount. With the Pope the Grand Mufti engaged in a political conversation, asking the Holy Father to take interest in the over 5 thousand prisoners kept in Israeli prisons: “There can be no peace until there is occupation”, he said. The Pope sent Muslims a clear message: “may we respect and love one another as brothers and sisters. “May we learn to understand the sufferings of others!”, “May no one abuse the name of God through violence!” The Pope then proceeded to the “Wailing Wall” where the most significant gesture of Pope Francis’ “diplomacy of the heart” took place. Accompanied by Rabbi Skorka and by Muslim leader and friend Abboud, the Pope prayed in silence, touching him with his right hand. And the end of the prayer, he inserted an envelope containing a hand written prayer between the cracks of the stones – the Our Father in Spanish. Immediately after, the Rabbi drew near the Wall. He also left a message, he also writes in Hebrew: “Our Father, who art in Heaven”. Visibly moved, with watery eyes he drew near Bergoglio and his Muslim friend in a long fraternal embrace. No more terrorism. The Pope’s visit to Mount Herzl is extremely significant. For the Jews the visit means to pay tribute to the founder of Zionism. Accompanied by Benjamin Netanyahu, Francis made another momentous gesture: he stopped before the Memorial of Jewish Victims of terrorism, a place that is very dear to Israel. Here he spoke powerful words: “terrorism is evil at the origin and outcomes. Evil at the origin because it originates from hatred and evil in the outcomes because it does not build, it destroys. I want everyone to understand that terrorism does not help and that it is a deeply criminal deed. I pray for all these victims and for all the victims of terrorism in the world. Please no more terrorists. Terrorism is an endless road”. At the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, the Pope delivered not a speech but a meditation. Having expressed his warmth to six holocaust survivors, he said: “In this place, this memorial of the Shoah, we hear God’s question echo once more: “Adam, where are you?” This question is charged with all the sorrow of a Father who has lost his child”. The meeting with President Peres in the Presidential building is under the banner of deep cordiality. Sitting near each other and filmed by video-cameras, the Pope once again made an impromptu speech that came from the heart. Shimon Peres said: “You bear imagination and inspiration”. The Pope’s spontaneously replied: “With my imagination and inspiration I would like to invent a new ‘beatitude,’ which fits to me in this very moment: blessed he who enters in the house of a wise and good man. I feel blessed”. President Peres was especially grateful for these words of affection, and replied: “Thank you from the deep of my heart”. Peace is an invitation to enter our home. Thus closes one of the most delicate pages of this trip to the Holy Land. However, not everything was spared polemics and rhetoric. On May 26 the Pope’s visit occupies the front page of “Jerusalem Post”, but there are also requests to the Holy See to open the Vatican archives regarding the period of the Shoah. In Israel the Pope’s stopover before the Wall of Bethlehem sparked off hot debates. However, Pope Francis preferred not to speak much and do many gestures instead, as underlined Omar Abboud, his Muslim friend: “While words in a certain way force reflections, gestures, symbols and signs act inside persons. I think that peace does not depend on an organizational body or on the United Nations. Peace is a human endeavour. It’s an invitation to enter our homes”.