On Monday, October 2, an Award Ceremony was held at Palazzo Borromeo for the book “Paolo Dall’Oglio e la Comunità di Deir Mar Musa. Un deserto, una storia” by Francesca Peliti. The volume, published by Effatà Editrice, won the fourth edition of the Ambassadors to the Holy See Literary Award.
At the opening, recalling that 10 years have passed since the kidnapping and the absence of news about Father dall’Oglio, founder of the monastery of Deir Mar Musa al-Abashi (Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian), Ambassador Francesco Di Nitto highlighted how the Al-Khalil community has over time become a solid point of reference for dialogue between Islam and Christianity and a crossroads between East and West, in a context – the Syrian one – characterized by a civil war that still has very serious consequences in humanitarian terms.
A humanitarian tragedy on which Alexandra Valkenburg, Head of the European Union Delegation to the Holy See and President of the Jury, dwelt, recalling the significant aid provided by the European Union in recent years, as well as reiterating the EU’s commitment to the pursuit of a sustainable political solution. The 2023 edition of the Ambassadors Award, she added, focuses on the theme of interreligious dialogue and underlines the relevance of the message of Father Dall’Oglio, who firmly believed in equality between all, men and women.
As representative of the Secretariat of State, Section for Relations with States, Msgr. Marco Formica reiterated the great attention with which the Holy See views the situation in Syria – a country where 90 % of the population lives below the threshold of poverty and where the presence of Christians has been reduced to less than a third compared to 2011 – and that of refugees in neighboring countries, whose return should be both safe and voluntary. Archbishop Formica also recalled the words spoken by Pope Francis in January 2023, namely that the rebirth of Syria “must come about through needed reforms, including constitutional reforms […] while at the same time ensuring that the international sanctions imposed do not affect the daily life of a people that has already suffered so much”.
Counsellor Gianluigi Vassallo, Head of the Farnesina’s Near East Office, highlighted Italy’s commitment to promoting interreligious dialogue as an integral and qualifying part of foreign policy action. With regard to Syria in particular, Italy makes a significant contribution to humanitarian assistance and follows the principles reaffirmed by UN resolutions – in particular Resolution 2254 – maintaining a constant and constructive dialogue with the main international actors.
After referring to the historic Document on Human Brotherhood for World Peace and Common Coexistence signed in Abu Dhabi by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayyib, Imam Nader Akkad dwelt on the testimony left behind by Father dall’Oglio, namely the idea of living fraternity as a concrete, life-long dialogue with each other, characterized by sincere moments of conviviality and sharing.
Father Lombardi described the volume published by Effatà Editrice as the choral story of Paolo dall’Oglio’s spiritual adventure: a true ‘gift for the human community’, because it offers a new and exciting perspective on dialogue and fraternity, which goes beyond mere coexistence and contemplates love for the other. Even after his disappearance, he continued, there have been many signs of hope, such as the publication of the Document on Human Brotherhood, the 2020 Encyclical Fratelli Tutti and Pope Francis’s trip to Iraq in 2021.
Finally, Gian Maria Piccinelli – a professor of Muslim Law and Islamic Countries and a witness to the birth of the Deir Mar Musa Community – described Father Dall’Oglio as a man of the frontier who lived his love for Islam while always remaining faithful to his religious beliefs.
During the award ceremony, the author of the book, Francesca Peliti, MAGIS Foundation advisor and president of the Friends of Deir Mar Musa Association, wanted to reiterate how the book was born out of friendship and is a book not only about Father Dell’Oglio, but about the entire community he founded, which continues his extraordinary work.
