Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Amman Monsignor Mauro Lalli has said that the Holy See recognizes the Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem based on the historic and unwavering position of the Holy See on Jerusalem. He noted that the Vatican’s early and decisive stand, which rejected the decision undertaken by US President Donald Trump to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, influenced the position of several world countries which was reflected on their voting against the US position at the United Nations.
He added, during a meeting with a delegation of the Amman Group for Future Dialogues on Thursday, January 25, that the Vatican’s position on Jerusalem coincides with the position of His Majesty King Abdullah II and of Jordan’s official position. He continued that this position was confirmed by His Holiness Pope Francis during his audience with His Majesty the King in the Vatican which focused on discussing the issue of Jerusalem and the ramifications of the US President’s decision. He asserted that this visit underlined the Vatican’s endorsement of the Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites because this custodianship guarantees freedom of worship for followers of all religions and preserves the character of the holy city.
For its part, the Amman Group for Future Dialogues (AGFD) delegation–which included Mr. Bilal Hassan Tal, Dr. Hayel Dawoud, Kalid Awadallah Abu Zeid, Dr. Mohammad Abu Hudeib, and Dr. Tayseer Ammari–delivered a copy of the AGFD’s work plan on Jerusalem to the Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Amman. The plan sheds light on the unified Jordanian official and popular position on Jerusalem in its capacity as a city that embodies the most sublime values of civilization in the region and the world, as it demonstrates the values of diversity where the divine religions meet and their variant followers of these religions lived.
The delegation members pointed out that this diversity has been jeopardized in Jerusalem and in other regions controlled by the Israeli occupation forces due to the policy of persecution, mass deportation and restrictions imposed on the inhabitants of Jerusalem and other occupied cities. The delegation members added that the number of Christians in Jerusalem has continuously been diminishing due to the Israeli restrictions on the Jerusalemite Muslims which necessitates that they stand united in the face the forcible displacement conducted by the ISIS terrorism and Israel.
Monsignor Mauro Lalli praised the work conducted by the AGFD in support for Jerusalem. He said: “The AGFD’s efforts back the efforts conducted by His Majesty King Abdullah II, and it is incumbent on all lovers of peace to support such efforts.
Source: Abouna.org
