Jordan: CCSM highly values hosting of martyrs’ families at the Speech from the Throne

The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) highly values the humanitarian and national Royal gesture of hosting the families of the Karak martyrs at the Parliament, to take part in the opening of the parliamentary session and listen to the Speech form the Throne delivered by His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein. The CCSM considers this initiative as a reflection of the depth of the bond between the Hashemite leadership and the members of the extended Jordanian family, particularly the families of the martyrs, whose sacrifices will remain etched in the nation’s memory and conscience.

 

A statement issued by CCSM Director Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader, who attended the Speech from the Throne event, states that the presence of the martyrs’ families in the Fifth Wing of the Parliament, alongside Church leaders as well as Christian and Muslim clergy, made a deeply moving national and human scene, especially as these families attended while the wound and the grief were still great, and the tears have not yet dried.

 

Fr. Bader added that the names  of the families’ martyrs were written on the seats reserved for them, while the names of their martyred sons were engraved in the hearts and in the nation’s memory. He noted that their presence at this high-level national occasion was a message of appreciation and loyalty to their sons’ sacrifices, and a confirmation that their loss stands for the loss of all Jordanians.

 

The CCSM commended His Majesty the King’s opening of the Speech from the Throne by remembering the Karak martyrs and inviting those present to stand for a minute of silence in honor of their pure souls. His Majesty said: “The blood of the Karak martyrs is a solemn pledge we will carry, and I ask you to observe a moment of silence in memory of the martyrs.”

 

Fr. Bader said that the silence that filled the Parliament was a resounding silence, powerful, and loud in its meanings. It was more eloquent than words, it was the silence of prayer, the silence of condemnation of the terrorist crime, the silence of remembering the martyrs’ fragrant legacy, as well as the silence of consolation, condolence, and standing by their families.

 

He pointed out that this moment coincided with the  All Souls’ Day which the Catholic Church observes on November 2 every year, lending the scene a profound spiritual and human dimension.

 

The CCSM affirmed that the Speech from the Throne conveyed a clear moral and national message condemning terrorism and its perpetrators, while underlining unity, solidarity, and cohesion of the Jordanian extended family, as well as affirming that extremist ideology can never be part of authentic Jordanian values which are based on cordiality, citizenship, and common living.

 

In this context, the CCSM recalls His Majesty’ the King’s clear and firm words: ““These people are not of us. They have departed from our great Jordanian family... and betrayed this family... so there is no place for them among us... not today and not tomorrow.”

 

Fr. Bader said that these words express the reality of the extended Jordanian family, which is distinguished by an atmosphere of closeness, solidarity, and common living, while rejecting every extremist ideology that seeks to attack the nation’s security or tear apart its social fabric.

 

The CCSM drew attention to the deep national symbolism of the martyrs’ families sitting in the Fifth Wing, next to the Fourth Wing reserved for members of the armed forces and security agencies; and considered this scene as an embodiment of national solidarity among the Hashemite leadership, the people, the nation’s military and security institutions, as well as the determination that Jordan remain strong, esteemed, and impervious to anyone who seeks to undermine its security and stability.

 

The CCSM cited what His Majesty the King affirmed in the Speech from the Throne: “Jordan will forever stand firm against those who seek to threaten its security or undermine its sovereignty; and it remains a force to be reckoned with against anyone who dare to dismiss the great history and legacy of this nation.”

 

The CCSM noted that the moving Royal gesture that followed the Speech form the Throne, was when His Majesty the King was keen to greet the martyrs’ families one by one, offering condolences, comforting and strengthening them in their grievous loss.

 

Fr. Bader said that this scene embodied the relationship of a father with his children, and unveiled a Hashemite leadership that shares its people’s sorrows and pains, while standing by them in all circumstances. He stressed that the presence of the martyrs’ families was not merely a protocol-driven participation in an annual constitutional occasion, but rather a message of loyalty, appreciation, and pride in their sons’ sacrifices.

 

The CCSM emphasized that this occasion extended a profound national and human message, in which the prestige of the state blended with feelings of grief, and the determination to protect the nation with compassion and consolation, where the unity of the Jordanian family was embodied, at a time when it grows ever more cohesive and united in the face of tribulations and challenges.

 

Fr. Bader concluded by saying: “The martyrs’ families were present in the Fifth Wing, but they were at the heart of the speech, at the heart of the King, and at the heart of the nation.”

 

He pleaded with Almighty to include the nation’s martyrs in His boundless mercy, to grant their families patience and solace, as well as protect Jordan, its Hashemite leadership, and its people, and to continue to bless it with security, stability, and national unity.