It didn’t take long for Pope Francis’ “spiritual” journey to the Holy Land to develop political overtones.
This pope is a master communicator. Whether it is his smile, his touch or simply his presence, he sends messages that are unmistakable.
His refusal to ride in a bullet-proof car! His spontaneous stop at the wall that separates Palestinians and Jews! His kissing the hands of Holocaust survivors! They were all masterful symbolic gestures, the meaning of which was not lost on the media.
The Holy Father in words and signs says he is not afraid to come in peace and to preach a message that protects the innate dignity of every living human being.
He has the tact to say what he wants and do what he wishes without insulting his hosts. Never having served in any diplomatic corps, Pope Francis still knows how to be a gracious visitor.
The most dramatic moment may have been his invitation to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to come to the Vatican for prayer with the pope as the host – not only symbolic but a practical step in the search for peace. It allows the possibility that the greatest achievement of this journey may be yet to come.
The stated reason for the trip to the Middle East was to mark the 50th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople. That historic 1964 encounter led both churches to lift the mutual excommunications that started the East-West schism in 1054. It opened the modern period of ecumenical dialogue, so much in keeping with the Second Vatican Council that was taking place in Rome.
This time, Pope Francis shared the scene with Patriarch Bartholomew. The logo of the event was an icon of the apostles Peter and Andrew, patron saints of the churches of Rome and Constantinople, joined in a fraternal embrace. Peter and Andrew were blood brothers, and this reunion was a chance for fraternal brothers to embrace again after not having seen each other for too long a time.
The time together also contained practical as well as symbolic results. The two leaders signed a common declaration calling for “communion in legitimate diversity” between their churches. It looked forward to a time when both Churches would come together and share a “Eucharistic banquet.”
Their declaration also called for common efforts in the “service of humanity, especially in defending the dignity of the human person at every stage of life and the sanctity of family based on marriage, in promoting peace and the common good” by struggling against “hunger, poverty, illiteracy (and) the inequitable distribution of resources.”
The leaders also stressed the need to protect the natural environment and defend religious liberty, especially for embattled Christian minorities in the Middle East.
The Holy Father’s densely packed three-day visit to Jordan, Palestine and Israel was filled with many memorable moments, from the pope blessing himself with water from the Jordan River to his quiet time in prayer at the Western Wall.
Pope Francis has reached out to Christians, Muslim and Jews in a cry for peace. His status as a world leader tireless in his search for peace has been firmly established.
This pope from the other side of the world has taught a lesson that the globe indeed has shrunk. What we do in our time and space reverberates with meaning and consequences on every continent in only a matter of seconds.
