by Dario Salvi

On 20 February, the Chaldean Patriarch took part in the Saudi government's third forum on the media as "bridges" of peace, the Kaiciid a partner in the event. The relationship between Christians and Muslims in a nation in "evolution". The call for a form of 'synodality' also for Islam. The "wise" position of Riyadh in the war in the Holy Land. And to the Holy See: "We must dialogue, discuss" with the Saudis.

 

Milan (AsiaNews) - "The blessing and the sign of the cross" stamped on the forehead of a group of Christian migrants, mostly Indians and Filipinos, employed by a restaurant as waiters and wait staff. The welcome at the airport by a policeman "who calls me 'Abouna' [father, in Arabic]" using words and gestures "of respect". And women 'without veils'. The participation of the Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, Card. Louis Raphael Sako, at a forum on the role of the media in interreligious dialogue, held on 20 February in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, was a 'surprising experience'. Because the country, the cradle of Sunni Islam and today the site of reforms and projects in the sphere of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's (Mbs) 'Vision 2030', revealed itself in the eyes of the cardinal as a place of openness and encounter with which, he warned, "the Holy See must open a serious dialogue".

Church and Islam

Card. Sako travelled to Saudi Arabia "at the invitation of the local authorities", he emphasised, recounting the experience to AsiaNews, the fourth cardinal to visit the kingdom after Maronite Patriarch Beshara Raï, Card. Jean-Louis Tauran and Card. Christoph Schoenborn.

"The occasion," he explained, "was participation in the third media forum" promoted by the government in partnership with the Kaiciid, a Saudi organisation "committed to interreligious dialogue" that had already asked me to attend meetings in Vienna [the organisation's first headquarters] in the past, "to participate.

"I was the only cleric present," he continues, "accompanied by the auxiliary [of Baghdad] Monsignor Basil Yaldo and I developed my speech starting from the theme of the event, the role of social media in a perspective of peace and dialogue".

The first visit to the country was "a special experience, in some respects surprising and unexpected" for a reality that had long presented itself as "closed, radical, the cradle of Islam". In reality, he continues, "on arrival at the airport, wearing a clergyman, the policeman called me 'Abouna', inviting me to continue with words of respect". In the hotel that hosted the event, I was "the only religious person in a group of 450 guests, including ministers, a Saudi sheik, a Shiite leader and the moderator of the forum, a Lebanese".

Before the speech, the cardinal had the opportunity to confront and discuss with the Sunni religious leader the changes that have taken place in the kingdom in recent years: 'The common idea was that of a closed, radical, tribal country. He replied that 'before, they were, now they are not', that we must be 'open to the world and confront modernity'. And this is a little bit the attempt we are making as a Church in a perspective of synodality. I myself,' says the Chaldean Patriarch, 'have said many times in the past that Islam needs synodality. And in the end they thanked me'.

Then there is the episode at the restaurant, equally significant for the cardinal: "The staff was composed of Indians and Filipinos," he recalls, "with a strong connotation of Christian migrants. They asked me if I was a priest to give them a blessing. I made the sign of the cross on their foreheads, without any hesitation. We must not be afraid to confront Islam, Saudi Arabia, with the fear of showing our [Christian] faith. All this without excluding Shia Iran, which is the other front of the Muslim faith'. Finally, the women, many of whom 'did not wear the veil in Riyadh' because 'they told me that it is no longer compulsory, as per the prince's [bin Salman's] disposition... this is also a sign of change in Islam'.

Before the speech, the cardinal had the opportunity to confront and discuss with the Sunni religious leader the changes that have taken place in the kingdom in recent years: 'The common idea was that of a closed, radical, tribal country. He replied that 'before, they were, now they are not', that we must be 'open to the world and confront modernity'. And this is a little bit the attempt we are making as a Church in a perspective of synodality. I myself,' says the Chaldean Patriarch, 'have said many times in the past that Islam needs synodality. And in the end they thanked me'.

Then there is the episode at the restaurant, equally significant for the cardinal: "The staff was composed of Indians and Filipinos," he recalls, "with a strong connotation of Christian migrants. They asked me if I was a priest to give them a blessing. I made the sign of the cross on their foreheads, without any hesitation. We must not be afraid to confront Islam, Saudi Arabia, with the fear of showing our [Christian] faith. All this without excluding Shia Iran, which is the other front of the Muslim faith'. Finally, the women, many of whom 'did not wear the veil in Riyadh' because 'they told me that it is no longer compulsory, as per the prince's [bin Salman's] disposition... this is also a sign of change in Islam'.

An authentic dialogue

Concerning the various open crisis fronts in the Middle East, whose repercussions are also evident in Iraq, Card. Sako judges the Saudi position "wise", because "I am not with Hamas, but neither am I with Israel's attacks and the 31,000 victims caused, a tragedy. This war,' he says, 'must end, they must dialogue, they must create two States according to a just and shared solution. Because the risk, already evident, is of the conflict spreading to Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria'.

Hence the reference to the importance of dialogue with Riyadh and what the Saudi kingdom represents, knowing, however, its reality also "through direct experience of the Muslim world" and it is a shrewdness that the Holy See itself must adopt by confronting and interacting "with the country, its culture, its mentality".

"We need people," he observes, "who know how to create a real and authentic dialogue". As Church "we must confront ourselves, discuss" with the Saudis, also to give an answer "to the three million Christians, so they told me, who live in the country as migrant workers. Meeting them, even for me, was a great witness and profession of faith and even some [non-Saudi] Muslims present told me that I did well to bless them [in public]'.

The occasion for the trip was the interreligious forum on 20 February with the theme: 'Building bridges and effective partnership to build peace and preserve diversity through the media'. An event promoted in cooperation with the Kaiciid (King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue), a centre based first in Vienna, then in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1 July 2022. The body has three founding countries: Saudi Arabia, which is also its main funder, Austria and Spain, while the Holy See plays the role of permanent observer. This is also, in fact, the only relationship of a 'diplomatic' nature that the Vatican has with Riyadh, one of the few states in the world that does not have official relations, although in recent years exchanges have intensified, especially in a perspective of peace and dialogue between different faiths.

Middle East, media and war

In his address, the Chaldean Patriarch stressed how today the world, and especially the Middle East, is "at stake" in its very existence because of "sophisticated weapons, conflicts, destructive wars and extremism". Delving into the role of the media, the cardinal explained how the media "exert a great influence on people and societies" in many ways: in thought, decisions and behaviour "in a positive or negative way". "The media," he continued, "are a blessing when they work and bring a positive message," when they help promote "awareness" in people and foster their "correct education". On the contrary, they can cause a "disaster" when they relaunch or spread "misleading news" and again, questioning "human, religious, moral and national values" thus ending up "disintegrating society".

The Chaldean Patriarch relaunched the role of the clergy in the world of media and communication "to educate people correctly" on the basis of shared values such as "brotherhood and peace", preserving in this perspective "the rights, freedom and dignity of people". Of fundamental importance, he warns, in a world and a region marked by divisions that unity be promoted 'within diversity and coexistence. This,' he warns, 'is the future we should work for. We must speak of God, of 'love' as in Christianity and 'mercy' in Islam", exalting "good morals" and "spreading human and spiritual values".

This requires a "simple, understandable and expressive vocabulary" and provides a "solid interpretation of the sacred texts" to "block the door" to those who interpret them outside their contexts "for utilitarian and political purposes. In this open and enlightened way, it is possible to fight terrorism and dismantle," the cardinal concluded, "the ideology of an extremist society that threatens national and global security".

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