This refusal was incomprehensible. Cardinal Etchegaray went to Iraq to organize a visit. International forces have already announced that they will be able to guarantee security. Meanwhile, after a long wait, Saddam Hussein’s “no” reached us. Very politely, motivated by too much risk. But was this the real reason?
In order to “sweeten” a little the bitterness of refusal, the Iraqi Bishops brought the Pope a brick from the house of Abraham as a gift. And, the Holy Father replied: “And, to think that I always thought that Abraham lived in a tent…”
In any case, on the route of his pilgrimages, John Paul II also had the opportunity to follow the paths of the Muslim world. He went to Cairo, to Mount Sinai, and later to Jordan, to Mount Nebo, to the land of Palestine, to Bethlehem, to Jerusalem, to the Dome of the Rock, one of the holiest places in Islam.
But who could have predicted what happened a year later?
I must admit that three months before the Holy Father’s trip to Syria, nothing was known about it. It was never talked about. Not only on that occasion, but also earlier. In Cairo or Jerusalem, no one invited the Pope to enter a Muslim temple. I don’t know, maybe it wasn’t done out of delicacy, suspecting that they would have embarrassed him with this proposal.
Then, unexpectedly, an invitation from Damascus came. On the one hand, this was the idea of the Syrian authorities, and on the other hand, it was pressed by Islamic circles. But, everyone agreed. And, happy that it came to their minds. And, that’s what they decided.
With the consent of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz – “Testimony”.
TBA marketing communication Publishing House. Warsaw 2007
