For Card Sandri, Moses Memorial in Jordan is a place of mercy and interreligious dialogue
The pope’s special envoy led the reopening ceremony at the Mount Nebo site. He expressed hope for peace for young generations in the Middle East through “reciprocal competition of charity”. The shrine is a place to experience peace and coexistence. He appealed for an “ecumenical journey among the Churches" in the East where " schisms took place”.
Amman (AsiaNews) – The reopening of the Moses Memorial on Mount Nebo is an historic event because the site is a crossroads of dialogue and meeting for the believers in the three great monotheistic religions – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – that were born "in this beloved Middle East" where “pilgrims learn to be merciful,” said Card Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and special papal envoy, during the Mass that marked the shrine’s reopening yesterday.
Jordanian authorities reopened to the public the Moses Memorial on Mount Nebo, where visitors and believers can admire some of the most beautiful mosaics found in the Hashemite kingdom, along with the basilica that contains them.
It is the place where, according to the Bible (Deuteronomy 34), God showed Moses the Holy Land and where the prophet, revered by the three monotheistic religions, died.
Although Moses’s burial place remains unknown (as the Holy Scriptures also note), groups of monks took up residence on the mountain. With their scholarship and prayers, they have perpetuated the memory of Moses through the centuries.
Cardinal Sandri led the solemn Eucharistic celebration that saw the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio to Jordan Mgr Alberto Ortega Martin, the Custos of the Holy Land Brother Francis Patton, Jordanian Tourism Minister Lina Annab, as well as the governor and mayor Madaba. Diplomats, priests, nuns, religious and many believers joined the prominent political and religious figures in the service.
“We ask for this gift especially for the younger generation of this beloved Middle East, that they might be accompanied to the threshold of a life of peace in their countries,” said the pope’s special envoy in his homily.
“May they know the peaceful coexistence of religions and cultures in a reciprocal competition of charity, seeking to construct the common good. May there be no more violence, oppression and denial of the basic freedom to profess one’s faith.”
Noting the value of religious freedom, the cardinal went on to say, that "If, like Moses, we stretch our gaze across the surrounding lands, we are reminded of many divisions and counter-witnesses; of the conflicts that for decades have set one people against another; of the cry of those fleeing war and persecution in Syria and Iraq to find refuge in the country of Jordan."
Recalling “the deafness of some those who hold the destiny of peoples and nations in their hands, but prefer to preserve markets and profits, instead of saving the innocent lives of women and children,” he said he hoped to this “this Shrine, which is being re-opened in the Holy Year of Mercy, remain a place where pilgrims learn to be merciful through having a concrete experience of it.”
Cardinal Sandri ended his address by thanking the King of Jordan for his hospitality and his efforts in favour of peaceful coexistence among faiths, as well as the great work of welcoming refugees from Palestine, Syria and Iraq.
The prelate also urged the international community to do more to ensure peace and justice among peoples. He appealed "especially for the ecumenical journey among the Churches. It was in the East that the major schisms took place; now, in the same East the blood of Christians of all denominations is being mixed."
Before the celebration, Card Sandri had lunch at the "Restaurant of Mercy" in Amman, an eatery established by the Church to provide a meal to poor and needy families. Run by Caritas volunteers, the restaurant employs some refugees giving them a job, some income and dignity.
The cardinal also visited the Greek Melkite parish of Madana, home to a mosaic workshop run by Iraqi refugees.
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