I have to admit, the news of the Pope’s death disheartened me. May his blessed soul rest in peace. He was a champion of peace and solidarity, something that gained him worldwide respect. The next Pope will certainly have big shoes to fill.
It is worth noting that when Pope John Paul II came to visit Jordan he stopped by my hometown of Madaba. He actually passed by my tribe’s neighborhood, Al-3zeizat as proud Madabains cheered and
clapped.
He also visited Mt. Nebo, the location Hubby and I chose to get married. Here is
another rare picture [not ours] of that visit to the mount that overlooks the Dead Sea.
As an update, when digging through our prayer link, the Pope is speaking glowingly of Jordan during his 2000 pilgrimage:
Today I am in Jordan, a land familiar to me from the Holy Scriptures: a land sanctified by the presence of Jesus himself, by the presence of Moses, Elijah and John the Baptist, and of saints and martyrs of the early Church. Yours is a land noted for its hospitality and openness to all. These are qualities of the Jordanian people which I have experienced many times in conversations with the late King Hussein, and which were confirmed anew in my meeting with Your Majesty at the Vatican in September last year.
Your Majesty, I know how deeply concerned you are for peace in your own land and in the entire region, and how important it is to you that all Jordanians—Muslims and Christians—should consider themselves as one people and one family.
Sterling – Armenians have their own separate church, with its own leadership structure, and it is an Eastern Orthodox variation. My understanding is that ethnic Armenians are almost exclusively Armenian Orthodox (that the identity is profoundly connected with the religion), so they do not recognize the Pope as their religious leader.
As I understand it, about half of Jordanian Christians are Eastern Orthodox, who are under the Patriarch of Jerusalem and deny the supremacy of Rome and the Pope. (Some Eastern Orthodox do recognize the Pope, and are called Eastern Catholic or “Uniate”.)
Apparently most of the rest of the Christian sects in Jordan do recognize the Pope, though the sects themselves are discrete. It’s really interesting, like a map of the Middle East since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Greek Catholics in Amman belong to what they call the Diocese of PetraPhiladelphia (a “diocese” is a Catholic administrative district), which is apparently the ancient Greek name for Amman – they’ve been organized there for almost 2000 years. They recognize the Pope, as do the Syrian, Armenian and of course Roman Catholic sects. All have somewhat different rites.
There are also European and North American Protestant sects represented in Jordan, as a result of missionary efforts in the modern era.
A great leader, can’t help but respect him. My condolences to jordan’s christian community. Hopefully the next pope will follow in his footsteps
Tougher pick than the Melbourne Cup
Karol Wojtyla has passed away. He came to the papacy while I was cracking my first set of teeth. While I was never Catholic, and no Orthodox bishop has ever held the media’s attention like John Paul II did, unless
The day before the Pope died Muslims and Christians were praying together in Jerusalem, Bethleham and Paris. Those are the cities I happened to hear of; I’m sure it was also happening in many other places.
Sinead O’Connor insulted Pope John Paul II on American TV in 1992, by ripping up his photo. She apparently saw herself as a rebel in those days, and frequently mouthed off about various topics. But in ’97 she apologized to the Pope and asked his forgiveness.
She has since been ordained as a priest by a member of the Palmar de Troya cult who claims to be a bishop in the Catholic Church, but is not. Also, while she at one time claimed to be a lesbian, she has recently married and claims to have ended her musical career.
I own a number of her albums, I love her voice, but she’s mentally unstable. The Irish love eccentrics and lunatics, and produce more than their fair share.
As for John Paul II, I believe he was a man of honest and completely well-meaning intentions. That’s a rare thing in this world.
Jeff, Sinead O’Connor has routinely made fun of the Pope. I think the greatest criticism has come from the US and Europe because of his refusal to budge on the gay issue and ordained women priests.
But, yes, this pope was a man of vision, greatly respected pretty much by leaders of all faiths. Many credit him with bringing down the Soviet Empire, but his real gift lies in unifying people of all faiths. He transcended Roman Catholicism by reaching out to Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and peoples of many faiths.
His legacy will endure. An age has come to pass, now, I’m afraid….
Darkness awaits….
May God bless his soul he was a good man. I was Looking at him on tv a while ago and ppl while visiting him the last time which got my Goosebumps rise.
The wife and I, to our dismay, have heard some bad mouthing of this Pope and it really surprises us. Regardless of your religious affiliation, you have to recognize the contribution this man made, always humble, as he worked for the benefit of the poor and needy.
They are calling him the most influential Pope in 500 years. That’s not just saying something, that’s saying something tremendous. It reveals a man that was not just great for his age, but great in the context of the last five centuries.
This was a man gifted with a multitude of languages who traveled the world, reaching out and working to unite not just Catholics, not just Christians but everyone. Part of the wife’s motivation for this post was the wonderful remembrance she found from Ayman on The Damascene Blog, detailing his memories of that same trip that took the Pope through the Holy Land.
To those deriding the man, I can only say enjoy your ignorance for you know nothing of what Karol Wojtyla — Pope John Paul II — represented, you know nothing of what he has done. Shame on those that would deride his legacy. Now is a time for tribute.
This Pope was a great man of God. I admired him most when he went to the prison and forgave his assassin ! He can surely quote the apostle Paul when near death once said :” I have fought the good fight, i have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” ” Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of rightousness, which the Lord, the rightous Judge, will give me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Tim :7,8