Jordan King breaking precedent to greet Pope

(May,06,2009):- The King of Jordan plans to break protocol this Friday, when he receives Pope Benedict XVI, said the director of Vatican’s press office. In a briefing on Monday, on the Pope's upcoming weeklong Holy Land pilgrimage, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi said that King Abdallah II will welcome the Pontiff at the airport, where he is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 p.m.. And in a particularly unusual gesture, the King and Queen Rania will again accompany the Pope to the airport when he leaves on Monday.
Father Lombardi noted that King Abdallah is offering a noteworthy contribution to inter-religious dialogue through various initiatives. He pointed to his Amman Message, encouraging the Islamic world to leave aside extremism, and the Amman Interfaith Message, directed primarily to Christians and Jews, and inviting the promotion of peace and values shared among the religions. The Vatican spokesman further noted that one of King Abdullah's advisors is Ghazi bin Muhammad, who coordinated the initiative from 138 Muslim scholars, who responded to 2006 attacks against the Pope following his address in Regensburg. It was this group who wrote "A Common Word," which eventually led to the formation of the Catholic-Muslim Forum in Rome.