AMMAN, Jordan — Pope Francis denounced arms dealers and appealed Saturday for an urgent end to the Syrian civil war as he began his three-day trip to the Middle East with an emotional meeting with refugees from Syria and Iraq who have fled to Jordan.
Francis deviated from his prepared remarks to make a plea for peace during his first day in Jordan, praying for God to “convert those who seek war, those who make and sell weapons!”
The appeal came during a meeting with refugees, moments after the pontiff bent down at the Jordan River, which some believe was the site of Jesus’ baptism, and touched the waters. It capped an intense day at the start of his first visit as pope to the Holy Land.
“Vive il papa,” a group of schoolchildren waving Vatican flags shouted as the pope arrived earlier Saturday at the royal palace for private talks with King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and their children.
Francis thanked Jordan for its “generous welcome” to Syrian refugees and called for a resolution to the civil war next door.
Jordan hosts 600,000 registered Syrian refugees, or 10 percent of its population, but Jordanian officials estimate the real number is closer to 1.3 million.
Francis saw the refugee exodus firsthand, meeting with about 600 Syrian and Iraqi refugees and disabled children at a church in Bethany.
Pope’s itinerary
Francis will visit a Palestinian refugee camp on Sunday, when he travels from Amman to the West Bank city of Bethlehem. It’s the first time a pope has landed in the West Bank rather than Tel Aviv first.
