Text of Patriarch Pizzaballa address marking CCSM's 10th anniversary and thr 20th anniversary of launching its websites

Following is the text of the address delivered by Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa at Le Royale Hotel in Amman on Monday, March 6, 2023  during the celebration marking the Catholic Center for Studies and Media's 10th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of launching its websites:

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

Your Excellency Mr. Faisal al-Shboul, Minister of Government Communications,

 

Your Excellencies,

 

I have come to you from Jerusalem bringing to you with me the love of the Heads of Churches, as well as of your brothers and sisters living there.  The prevailing conditions there, as we know well, have never witnessed peaceful days as they should have been. Let us always continue to pray for Jerusalem.

 

However, we mark the holy fasting period, namely the Lenten season, which serves as a prelude that prepares us to mark the Feast of the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ being the reason for our hope, and aspirations for a better future, God willing.

 

We gather today to thank the sublime media, the committed media, the open-minded media, and the media of dialogue. The Catholic Center for Media and Studies affiliated with the Latin Patriarchate, the abouna websites, and its Board of Consultation are elements that affirm that the media plays a constructive role and has a civilized message in this life.

 

And we in the Holy Land, whether in Jordan or Palestine and in the Middle East in general, are in dire need to manipulate these means to bring about construction as well as  to affirm our main constants regarding love for the homeland, loyalty to it, and to express the sincere spirit of belonging to our homelands, to our wise leadership, as well as to educate the new generations on the good use of these means ethically which is not only confined to staying away from unethical sites. The media and ethical aspect implies interaction through dialogue, understanding, and resorting to ethics.

 

We highly greet the Jordanian efforts which adopt the values of justice, peace and dialogue. Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, has always followed a path in favor of peace and friendship among peoples. These efforts have also been visible through the export of messages of love and harmony. The Week of Interfaith Harmony was launched in accordance with a Jordanian initiative, adopted by the United Nations, and approved by all countries. But we are not satisfied with just one week of harmony, by talking about it and living it. We need a daily "friendship" relationship with harmony, as well as sharing life and efforts in the service of humanity. Consequently, we invite our dear media in the presence of this massive highly valued journalists to have affection and love as the masters of daily situations in the visual, audio and read reporting as well as in instagram, TikTok and facebook. Let us form a creative force through social media on daily bases. In the presence of their excellencies the dear ambassadors, we call on the extended human and international families to always side with justice that builds peace and tranquility.

 

In his January 24, 2023 World Communications Day, Pope Francis drew attention to the need that we have to speak the language of the heart. The language of the heart implies the language of tolerance, the language of culture encounter, and the language of openness to the others especially those in pain.

 

We jointly great abouna websites which we have known for years, and viewed its development with God's blessings. We also jointly greet the Catholic Center for Studies and Media.

 

We greet the new Board of Consultation and thank His Excellency Dr. Raja'i Muasher.

 

We also thank Fr. Rif'at whom you know well and have been dealing with. He has a priestly and a media message. He is always ready to follow up on the latest news and to comment on it in a positive way.

 

In conclusion, we renew our solidarity with all the victims of wars and disasters, particularly on these days with the families of the victims in Syria and Turkey as a result of the earthquake that struck both countries. The Latin Patriarchate has forwarded the relevant aid it has collected from its faithful in Jordan and Palestine. Furthermore, Caritas Jordan and all our charitable institutions have done their relevant duty in this regard.  Many thanks go to them.

 

You are welcome you and thank you for accepting the invitation May we all the time cooperate for the good of humanity.