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Jordan—Open for Catholic Pilgrims

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin arrives prior to a mass for the consecration of the Church of the Baptism of the Lord on January 10 in al-Maghtas, Jordan.
Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

Jordan—Open for Catholic Pilgrims

Centuries of religious conflicts should make us stop and think.

Although Catholics comprise about 1 percent of Jordan’s population, the Vatican is striving to establish the country as a major destination for pilgrims. Leading this initiative is the pope himself and two influential cardinals: Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and the patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

Jordan’s population is 97 percent Muslim, with an estimated 115,000 Catholics of different rites. Yet this small presence is important to the Vatican. On Dec. 17, 2024, Pope Francis appointed Iyad Twal as a bishop for Jordan within the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Just a few weeks later, on January 10, Parolin and Pizzaballa went to Jordan to inaugurate the Church of the Baptism of the Lord in the presence of 6,000 pilgrims. The Vatican claims the church was built where Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

Three days later, Parolin held a meeting in Jordan with 14 pontifical representatives from the Middle East to address regional challenges, including ongoing hostilities. A corresponding statement from the Vatican read: “Christians remain an essential element of fraternal coexistence among the various religions and of the progress of the respective nations.”

This is the stated reason for the immense effort the Vatican is putting into the region. However, the idea that an increased Catholic presence in the Middle East will lead to more peace is questionable. That ignores centuries of religious conflict in the region, which Catholic crusaders heavily contributed to. How will the Vatican contribute to the “fraternal coexistence among the various religions”?

Reviving What Was Lost

The Church of the Baptism of the Lord will be “one of the largest in the Middle East, joining esteemed places of pilgrimage and prayer like the Church of the Annunciation, the Church of the Nativity, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem wrote. It will serve as a “pilgrimage destination for the faithful to receive plenary indulgence.”

Parolin expressed hope for increased pilgrim visits to Jordan and “praised Jordan’s stability and King Abdullah’s diplomatic initiatives, particularly regarding the Gaza situation,” Ammon News reported.

The Pillar commented:

There is clearly also a diplomatic dimension to the event. The designation of Parolin, the Vatican’s top diplomat, as papal legate signals the Holy See’s gratitude to the Jordanian authorities for enabling the church’s construction.

Jordan’s government, in turn, hopes the church will help to boost religious tourism and therefore the local economy. …

The church’s consecration, therefore, serves a rare combination of purposes: It affirms the historical nature of the Christian faith, the local Catholic community, Holy See-Jordan relations, and the desire for peace in the Middle East.

Pizzaballa told Vatican News: “The dedication of the church is also a sign of renewal of the church and a new beginning.”

To understand the significance of this new beginning, we have to look at history. The Pillar wrote:

The church’s consecration marks a major moment in the revitalization of the baptism site, which was esteemed throughout the first millennium of Christianity but fell into neglect following the Crusades and the decline of the Byzantine Empire.

The Vatican is revitalizing what it lost after the crusades. Reminders of this history can be found all over Jordan. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in January 2011:

One of the main tourist attractions in Jordan is the Crusader castles. The Catholics built most of them to war against the Muslims and control Jerusalem. These castles are stark reminders of the bloody past—and a far bloodier future!

Any time the Catholic Church sought to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, there was bloodshed—often because it did not tolerate other religions. Will it be different this time around?

Watch Jerusalem Closely

Catholic presence in the region has always centered around Jerusalem, a city controlled by the Jews and wanted by Islam.

The Bible reveals that the world’s religions will again clash over Jerusalem. “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:2-3).

Concerning these verses, Mr. Flurry wrote:

Truly, every empire and nation that has ruled Jerusalem has had burdensome and painful problems.

To this day, this city is at the heart of the world’s thorniest political and diplomatic dilemma. It is a hot spot for devastating news caused by religious and political resentments, terrorist attacks and other violence. It is a powder keg charged with nuclear potential! No other city is so fraught with international tension.

Bible prophecy shows that events in this city will trigger a nuclear World War iii! That alone is a vital reason to closely watch Jerusalem.

Religion’s efforts to bring peace have failed. Centuries of religious conflicts should make us ask: What is wrong with the spirituality of our world? Only the Bible can answer this question, as Mr. Flurry explains in “The Last Crusade” and his free book The Eternal Has Chosen Jerusalem.

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