The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan participated in a conference, organized by the Hungarian Danube Institute, which was held in Budapest on September 5-6, 2022 and was represented by its director Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader. Regional Director of Hungary Helps Agency Mr. To’meh Jbara took part in the conference as well.
During the conference, Fr. Dr. Bader delivered an address about the future of Christians in the East. He presented seven points serving as the main bases for a more promising, prosperous, peaceful, and harmonious future for Christians in the Middle East especially 10 years after Pope Benedict VI signed in 2010 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness”.
Fr. Bader elaborated on the pioneering Jordanian experience in the field of common living among followers of religions. He also indicated that the future of Christians in the Middle East is the same as the future of their partners in the homelands. From this premise, Fr. Bader stressed the importance of promoting the values of plurality and equality on the basis of good citizenship in Arab societies.
For his part, Mr. Tomah Jara reviewed the activities conducted by Hungary Helps Agency in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq and showed images and films that explain how this agency changed the conditions of the extremely desperate individuals and families, as well as brought to them hope and grace.
The conference was attended by Hungarian Minister of State for Religious Affairs Mr. Tristan Azbej, principal researcher at the Danube Institute Dr. Geoffrey Kaplan, members of the Danube Institute, as well as representatives of civil and ecclesiastical institutions particularly the Middle East, Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in addition to academics concerned with the Christians of the East.
By Munir Bayouk/ en.abouna.org :
