Merciful Like the Father: The Vatican’s Prioritization and Promotion of Refugee Protection and Interreligious Dialogue in the Middle East under Pope Francis

Abstract

Based on documentary analysis, participant observation, and interview research, this paper examines the efforts of the Vatican under Pope Francis to uniquely and holistically prioritize the principles of refugee protection and interreligious dialogue in the Middle East. The Vatican’s prioritization of the principle of interreligious dialogue began with Pope Francis’s predecessors. They had encountered people of other religions and recognized the importance of institutional reform and modernization in an increasingly changing and volatile world. As political instability and civil conflict continued in Iraq and Syria, Pope Francis promoted the principle and that of refugee protection with greater urgency inside and outside the region. To this end, he issued statements and launched campaigns around the globe, as well as held meetings and drafted documents with leaders of Islam and other faiths. He also put the principle into practice through the Vatican’s institution of Caritas Internationalis. In Jordan, it delivered faith-based development and humanitarian aid to rising numbers of Iraqi and Syrian refugees who were Christian and Muslim.