Amman, Pope Francis’ "Garden of Mercy" offers work to Iraqi refugees

The work commissioned by the Pope was financed with money collected in the Holy See's pavilion at Expo 2015. It aims at providing work and dignity to the thousands of displaced Iraqi people and to become a place of encounter and interreligious dialogue. Patriarch Twal: the "seeds of good" planted by Bergoglio "in the fields of the world."

Amman (AsiaNews) - A "Garden of Mercy" wanted and "offered" by Pope Francis to Jordan, funded through money raised from the Holy See Pavilion at Expo 2015 in Milan Italy last year has opened in recent days with an official ceremony (pictured) the apostolic nunciature in Amman, in collaboration with Caritas Jordan and the Latin Vicariate in the capital.

The garden is located in the center of Our Lady of Peace in Amman and plans to restore "dignity" to the thousands of displaced Iraqis in the country, while providing employment opportunities for needy families.

According to abouna.org, a solemn Mass was held in conjunction with the opening ceremony to mark the third year of Francis’ pontificate. Mass was presided by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, together with the nuncio in Jordan Msgr. Alberto Ortega Martin and Msgr. Segundo Moines, papal delegate and secretary general of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".

A number of bishops, representatives of the Christian churches of various denominations, ambassadors, personalities from the world of politics and religion, nuns, priests and members of Caritas Jordan were also present. After the Mass the Pope’s "garden" was officialy opened.  It has been planted with fruit trees which will guarantee jobs for some Iraqis fleeing the war, and who have found shelter in Jordan.

In his address, Patriarch Twal recalled the "good seed" planted by Bergoglio "in the fields of the world." We thank him, he added, for the Year of Mercy during which he invites us to nourish "the culture of mercy" in a world "torn by violence" and a "lack of love and justice." "We hope that this garden - concluded Msgr. Twal – brings many fruits supporting the work of many families, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, in the month dedicated to her".

The Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Alberto Ortega Martin, who was recently posted to Jordan after his experience in Iraq, recalled that the garden is "fruit of the Pope’s charity", who wanted to allocate the funds raised during Expo for Iraqi refugees in the country.

This has led "to the emergence of a small sustainable farm," added the prelate, with 600 olive trees on a plot of about 10 thousand square meters, which "employs 15 people, mostly refugees, but also Jordanians".

The garden, added the Vatican diplomat, will also support "the common work of Christians and Muslims", giving concrete witness of the words pronounced by the Pope during his trip to the Hashemite kingdom in 2014: "Christians [...] together with your Muslim countrymen want to contribute to the society in which they live”. This is why the hope is that the garden is pure "place of dialogue and encounter" between different religions.

Concluding the ceremony Fr. Wael Suleiman, Director of Caritas Jordan, announced "other projects" aimed at creating "jobs" for "our brother Iraqi refugees" and "to help them live in dignity" in the period in which they "remain in Jordan".

According to UN sources, in Jordan there are at least 635 thousand refugees. Amman says the figure is even higher and amounts to 1.4 million, about 20% of the total. Of these at least 130 thousand are Iraqis (nearly 1.3% of the population), in addition to 1.3 million Syrians and more unregistered refugees. In response to the emergency, schools, hospitals, the jobs market are at the point of collapsing.

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