AMMAN, Jordan – Pope Francis denounced arms dealers and appealed Saturday for an urgent end to the Syrian civil war as he began his three-day trip to the Middle East with an emotional meeting with refugees from Syria and Iraq who have fled to Jordan.
Francis deviated from his prepared remarks to make a strong plea for peace during his first day in Jordan, praying for God to “convert those who seek war, those who make and sell weapons!”
The appeal came during a meeting with refugees, just moments after the pontiff bent down at the Jordan River, where some believe was the site of Jesus’ baptism, and touched the waters. And it capped an intense day at the start of his first visit as pope to the Holy Land.
“Vive il papa,” a group of schoolchildren waving Vatican flags shouted as the pope arrived earlier on Saturday at the royal palace for private talks with King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and their children.
Francis thanked Jordan for its “generous welcome” to Syrian refugees and called for an urgent resolution to the civil war next door.
“I urge the international community,” he said, “not to leave Jordan alone in the task of meeting the humanitarian emergency caused by the arrival of so great a number of refugees but to continue and even increase its support and assistance.”
Francis saw the refugee exodus firsthand, meeting with about 600 Syrian and Iraqi refugees and disabled children at a church in Bethany beyond the Jordan River.
Francis, who has frequently despaired over the plight of refugees, told them he had wanted in particular to meet with them during his trip and issued a heartfelt plea for peace in their homeland.
“Peace isn’t something which can be bought; it is a gift to be sought patiently and to be crafted through the actions, great and small, of our everyday lives,” he said. The crowd, which the Vatican had estimated could exceed 25,000, gave him a warm welcome as he zipped around the stadium in his open-topped car, kissing children and youngsters who came up to him.
In his remarks, Abdullah said Christian communities were an “integral part” of the Middle East, and he had sought to uphold “the true spirit of Islam, the Islam of peace,” which extends to protecting holy sites for Christians and Muslims alike. He urged the pope to use his “humanity and wisdom” to help end the conflict in Syria and to encourage leaders to take the courageous steps needed to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“The status-quo of ‘justice denied’ to the Palestinians; fear of the other; fear of change; these are the way to mutual ruin, not mutual respect,” he said.
Francis has a packed schedule for the three-day visit. He will visit a Palestinian refugee camp today, when he travels from Amman directly to the West Bank city of Bethlehem. It’s the first time a pope has landed in the West Bank rather than Tel Aviv first – a nod by the Vatican to the “Palestinian state.”
