On Wednesday, January 29, Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan Fr. Dr. Rif’at Bader met with newly named Perfect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue Cardinal George Koovakad, during which Fr. Fader conveyed his  best wishes as well as those of the CCSM members of staff for assuming his new responsibility.

During the meeting, which took place in the Vatican, the discussion focused on the importance of dialogue in the world especially following the fruitful efforts undertaken by Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, and late Cardinal Jean-Louis Pierre Tuaran, in addition to the seven papal visits Undertaken by His Holiness Pope Francis to the Arab region which included Jordan and Palestine in 2014, Egypt in 2017, the UAE and Morocco in 2019, Iraq in 2021, and Bahrain in 2022.

Fr. Bader also highlighted Jordan’s noble role in the field of dialogue, and reviewed the initiatives launched by His Majesty King Abdullah II, such as the Amman Message in 2004, the “A Common Word” initiative in 2017, and the Interfaith Harmony Week in 2010. He also stressed Jordan’s role in hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees, as well as displaced  and persecuted persons.

On the other hand, Fr. Bader invited Cardinal George to visit the Jordanian exhibition--supervised by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities--namely "Jordan: The Dawn of Christianity", due to be held in the Vatican on January 31-February 28. This exhibition, which represents a global event as it unveils the ancient Christian history in Jordan, is considered an open invitation to the world to discover the history of religions in the Kingdom and their messages of peace and common living.