From the intro to a story from the
Catholic News Service:
AMMAN, Jordan -- Pope Benedict XVI began an eight-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land with an appeal for tolerance and a gesture of charity.
Arriving in Jordan May 8, the 82-year-old pontiff expressed his "deep respect for the Muslim community" and paid tribute to interfaith dialogue initiatives launched by Jordanian leaders.
"We can say that these worthy initiatives have achieved much good in furthering an alliance of civilizations between the West and the Muslim world, confounding the predictions of those who consider violence and conflict inevitable," he said in a speech at the Amman airport.
An hour later, the pope made the first stop of his pilgrimage: a visit to several hundred men and women served by a church-run center for the disabled in Amman. There he spoke movingly of the struggle to make sense of suffering and the church's effort to help the afflicted.
The pope was making his first trip to an Arab country, the first leg of a journey that was later to take him to Israel and the Palestinian territories. He was met at Queen Alia International Airport outside Amman by Jordan's King Abdullah II, who has championed interfaith dialogue and defended the historic protection of religious minorities in the predominantly Muslim country.
The pope commended Jordan for curbing extremism and said its leaders had promoted "a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam."
Pope Benedict said he had come to Jordan as a pilgrim to visit Christian holy places, including Mount Nebo, from which Moses saw the Promised Land, and the Jordan River, where Christ was baptized.
He said the fact that he would bless foundation stones for new churches near the baptism site reflected well on Jordan's respect for religion and protection of religious rights.
"Religious freedom is, of course, a fundamental right, and it is my fervent hope and prayer that respect for the inalienable rights and dignity of every man and woman will come to be increasingly affirmed and defended, not only throughout the Middle East, but in every part of the world," he said.
The pope praised the country's leaders for supporting efforts to find a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In late April, King Abdullah met with U.S. President Barack Obama and urged him to make decisive moves for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, warning that a new Middle East war could erupt if no real progress is made over the next 18 months.
The king met more recently with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to try to relaunch serious peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis based on a two-state solution.
The pope favorably noted Jordan's welcoming of refugees from Iraq. Jordan has absorbed an estimated 700,000 Iraqi refugees, including some 70,000 Christians, according to church sources.
Outside the airport, hundreds of schoolchildren cheered as the papal motorcade passed. Wearing kaffiyehs and papal-visit caps, they waved Vatican flags and held banners with various welcome messages written in Arabic.
The pope's stop at the Regina Pacis center underscored the church's efforts to meet a serious health care need in Jordan. It is estimated that 10 percent of Jordanian young people under age 19 suffer from a serious disability.
The ultramodern center is operated by three Comboni Missionary Sisters and a team of teachers, therapists and volunteers to educate and care for Muslims and Christians with disabilities free of charge.
The pontiff arrived at the center to loud cheers, and he waded into a huge crowd of well-wishers as a band played the "gerpe" -- a Jordanian bagpipe -- and tabla, or hand drums.
In a speech, he acknowledged that it's sometimes "difficult to find a reason for what appears only as an obstacle to be overcome or even as a pain -- physical or emotional -- to be endured." Faith in God and his unconditional love provides the necessary perspective, and prayer can help heal spiritual and emotional wounds, he said.
From the intro to a story from the Catholic News Service:
