Pope Benedict held an open-air mass in the Arab country of Jordan today. A massive crowd listened to him.

Thousands of Jordanians have joined Pope Benedict XVI for an open-air Mass in a football stadium, on the third day of his Middle East tour.

The crowd, in the capital Amman, included hundreds of children waving flags of Jordan and the Vatican.
Jordan’s 200,000 Roman Catholics, and other Christians, were given a special holiday to enable them to attend.

He told local Catholics – who are facing tough times: many have emigrated in recent years – to be proud of and live according to their faith.

“Fidelity to your Christian roots, fidelity to the Church’s mission in the Holy Land, demands of each of you a particular kind of courage,” he said.

“The courage of conviction, born of personal faith, not mere social convention or family tradition.”

During his ongoing trip to the Middle East, the pope stressed the importance of interfaith dialogue.

In a speech on Saturday at the King Hussein mosque in Amman, he warned against the “ideological manipulation” of religion for political ends, which he said could act as a “catalyst for tension and division”.

JTA has more:

He encouraged Christians and Muslims to oppose terrorism. “Muslims and Christians, precisely because of the burden of our common history, so often marked by misunderstanding, must today strive to be known and recognized as worshippers of God, faithful to prayer, eager to uphold and lift by the almighty decrees,” Benedict said.

He was also scheduled on Sunday to visit the East Bank of the Jordan River, where Jesus is said to have been baptized.

On Saturday, the pope visited Mount Nebo, from where the Bible says Moses saw the Land of Israel. He said the site was a reminder of “the inseparable bond between the Church and the Jewish people.”…

At the mosque, in a meeting with Muslim leaders, he called for a “trilateral dialogue” including the Church to help bring Jews and Muslims together to discuss peace.

Interestingly enough, the pope did not take off his shoes (which is normally necessary in order for one to enter a mosque), nor did he pray. Instead, he sat in “silent reflection.”

In any case, his words should be taken to heart: if those who present themselves as “Muslim leaders” and Christian leaders would reach out to each other, treat each other with respect and understanding, the world would be a better place.