Well-known journalist Ferdinand Samarxhi, "Honour of the Nation": I recounted the meeting of the World Grandfather, Dede Edmond Brahimaj, with Pope Francis in the Vatican, the messages and the rare interview with the Holy Father, which broke the rules of official protocol
From Nuri CUNI
General Secretary of the Bektashi World Headquarter
Today, on May 11, 2022, when it turns 6 years since the meeting in the Vatican, of the Bektashian World Grandfather, Haxhi Dede Dede Edmond Brahimajt, with the Pope of Rome, the well-known journalist, Ferdinand Samarxhiu, who was the moderator of the meeting and the journalist who broke the protocol of the Vatican, interviewing the Holy Father, amid emotions that, as he says, "never die", tells "Telegraf", some interesting details from that meeting and the messages he gave. "...I was lucky that I was the only television journalist from Albania who was a participant (together with the cameraman), I moderated it and managed to interview the Holy Father with a microphone, an unprecedented case according to the protocol, but which was accepted by the host I was lucky to be present at this fraternal reception, the World Grandfather Bektashian-Pope of Rome... The assessments and messages given by the two leaders are relevant for today and in the future. I have many impressions and details of those two days in the Vatican (although I had been and met the previous Pope), I have written something, but I am happy to list some memories for you, today, which is the 6th anniversary of this meeting"
Preparation and emotions before the meeting
As I have said, it was a historic two-day visit, with national and international values, as it was the first time that a Pope received an Albanian religious leader at the Vatican Headquarters. I can't forget that day, its unique emotions. May 11, at 09:00, will remain the hour of experiencing a historic meeting with dimensions and contours that will grow more and more, every day more and more on the horizon. The vision of that meeting will illuminate and become more significant in the future for peace, love, for faith, for the way of God, for the nation, for today's human society. I had gone to the Vatican before, but since in this meeting, I was both its moderator and the only Albanian television journalist, who had the privilege to enter this meeting with the cameraman, to film. While my insistence to get an interview with the Pope, (which was outside the protocol), the willingness of the Pope and its realization, was a rare thing and a privilege. I want to remind here that I was well prepared for this meeting (luck and dream for every journalist), where I had the well-known TVSH cameraman, Naum Lasku, that is, the one who had filmed Pope John Paul and Pope Francis. I thank him from the bottom of my heart.
The Pope's meeting with Dede Mondi
09:00 on May 11, 2016, found us at the height of the emotions of the reception of the Pope. The Holy Father enters the door, looks at us and smiles, while we bow with reverence and respect. During the walk, he claimed that 'I am waiting for a good friend from Albania!'. In respect of Dede Edmond Brahimaj and the Albanian delegation, the Holy Father did not go to his throne where, according to strict protocol, he always sits, but took His chair, pulled it, (even though others asked to help him urgently) and approached and sat next to the World Grandfather, to show a fraternal closeness of a very cordial meeting. After the presentation of the delegation by the World Grandfather, the Pope listened to Cardinal Turan, the President of the Pontifical Council for World Interreligious Dialogue, who told the Pope about the role of the Bektashi community, as a great, active factor in religious harmony, tolerance and understanding. the role and commitment of Bektashism for peace and fraternal coexistence among people in society. I have noted well that at this moment, the Pope, deeply moved by the arrival and meeting with the dear friend, a simple brother of our Grandfather, of the same family of God, sat down with the chair next to Him, and like brother to brother , very close to each other, remembered the indelible impressions that I keep - said the Holy Father, - in my mind and heart, from the meeting with the Albanian people. I remember the youth - said the Holy Father - as the value of a nation for today and the future of society. In the past, - said the Holy Father, - we have fought wars between faiths, we must repent for them, but war is not the way we should walk. The path we must travel is that of love, peace, dialogue and understanding between religions, countries, peoples and today's human society. The Pope also emphasized the values of fraternal coexistence, between the faiths that exist in Albania, as an example and precious treasure of the Albanian nation, these values that must be cultivated and carried forward with dedication and conviction. The Holy Father recalled His meeting with the heads of religious communities in Tirana, encouraged this fraternal harmony, and this spreads like an unquenchable light always.
Fraternal conversation between the two leaders
The special behavior, the respect that the Pope showed at the entrance, during the conversation and the warm words he expressed, the very fraternal way of communicating with the World Grandfather, melted us with emotions, creating an unrepeatable friendly environment. Dede Edmond Brahimaj, thanking the Holy Father, for the welcome he reserved for him, for the warmth he brought to him and for the heartfelt words he conveyed for our nation, said among other things: "...We are grateful to you for the rest of our lives for what do for the sons of our nation, for the sanctification of Mother Teresa, for the beatification of the 38 Martyrs who were inhumanely persecuted by the atheist communist regime. We, and the whole world, must be grateful to them for the great message that you conveyed, to all the suffering people, the Muslim immigrants, that you asked the states not only to open the borders, but also to open the doors of the soul for them. Likewise, the Great Grandfather thanked the Pope for the work he is doing to avoid wars in the name of God and religion, and to bring the peoples and religions closer together, as a single human family. "Exactly these values, we manifested, with our participation in Paris, after the terrorist attacks. We have united all Muslim brothers in the Balkans and beyond, in the fight against various radical terrorist currents. …We must always be by your side, by your great messages of peace. We always see you as the standard-bearers of love and peace for different peoples and religions. Without feeling it, time went by, significantly exceeding the time limit set in the protocol for this meeting. At the end of it, the two leaders, moved by the warmth of their brotherhood, in a moment remained and, only the embrace was the one that would close that warmth, that love, that veneration that permeated the unforgettable historical conversation, a spiritual union .
The 'breach' of protocol and my interview with the Pope
I have said and written somewhere, the lucky occasion, (thanks to my stubbornness) for every journalist in the world, the giving of the interview by the Pope, which was categorically from the protocol, which, in the end, made me happy with the presence and thanks of the Holy Father . But I repeat something...
Even though I knew the protocol well, even though I was given a chance to meet the Pope of Rome, and I had to follow it with the utmost strictness, excited about what had happened in that hall, that the rules of the centuries-old protocol had been broken, seeing the warmth, the offering, the love that I called at the moment: great spiritual union, I took courage and turned to the Holy Father with the microphone and said: 'Holy Father, a blessing to my people Albanian!'. And the Holy Father affirmed once again with that love and that great blessing, for our people, that Albania moves forward, that the Albanian nation increasingly sees itself from a better future, that peace and love prevail among them, like the eagle on the flag of our nation. I had won the whole world, I had taken with me the most sacred thing for my country, for my nation, the blessing of the Holy Father! This made me happy and I will remember it all my life, in my heart.
As soon as the meeting ended, Vatican Radio immediately broadcast it in all the languages of the world. Albania's screens began to inform and whisper, "Rare historical meeting!". But the surprises in the Vatican continued. The World Grandfather was invited to Radio Vatican by its director, the Albanian Dom David Xhuxha.
Messages that are always a guide
The meeting in the Vatican, of the World Grandfather Bektashian, with the Pope of Rome, the conversation and the messages of this meeting, are relevant today and at any time. Especially, in these troubled days and times that we are going through today, where innocent lives are lost every day in the war in Ukraine, when there are sharp conflicts in many countries and humanity is experiencing social difficulties.
Prepared pages: Kujtim BORIÇI
