Vatican City, 8 May 2014 (VIS) – “In
the person of Your Holiness I extend my respectful and affectionate
thoughts to the members of the family of the Catholicate of All
Armenians throughout the world. It is a special grace for us to be
able to meet in this house, close to the tomb of the Apostle Peter,
and to share a moment of fraternity and prayer”.
Pope Francis thus began his greeting to
His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All
Armenians, in a meeting that took place this morning. He went on to
mention how the links between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the
Church of Rome have been consolidated during recent years thanks to
events such as John Paul II's trip to Armenia in 2001, the presence
of the Patriarch in the Vatican on various occasions such as the
official visit to Benedict XVI in 2008 and the beginning of Pope
Francis' ministry as bishop of Rome in 2013.
“However”, he added, I would like
to recall another celebration, rich in meaning, in which Your
Holiness took part: the Commemoration of the Witnesses of faith in
the twentieth century, which took place within the context of the
Great Jubilee of 2000. In truth, the number of disciples who have
shed blood for Christ in the tragic events of the last century is
certainly higher than that of the martyrs of the first centuries, and
the sons of the Armenian nation have a place of honour in this
martyrology. The mystery of the Cross, so dear to the memory of your
people, represented in the splendid stone crosses that adorn every
corner of your land, has been lived by countless sons of yours,
directly participating in the chalice of the Passion. Their witness,
both tragic and lofty, must not be forgotten”.
“The suffering of Christians during
recent decades has also made a unique and inestimable contribution to
the cause of unity between Christ's disciples. As in the ancient
Church the blood of martyrs became the seed of new Christians, in our
days too the blood of many Christians has become the seed of unity.
The ecumenism of suffering and martyrdom is a powerful reminder to
walk the path of reconciliation between the Churches, decisively and
trustfully surrendering ourselves to the action of the Spirit. Let us
feel the duty of following this path of fraternity also for the debt
of gratitude we have towards the suffering of so many of our
brothers, which has become salvific by being united with the passion
of Christ”.
In this respect, the Pope thanked
Karekin II for his effective support for ecumenical dialogue, and in
particular the work of the Joint Commission for theological dialogue
between the Catholic Church and the oriental Orthodox Churches, and
for the significant theological contribution to the Commission
offered by the representatives of the Catholicate of All Armenians.
“Let us pray for each other”,
concluded the bishop of Rome. “May the Holy Spirit enlighten us and
guide us towards longed-for day in which we may share in the
Eucharist. And may the All Holy Mother of God intercede for the
Armenian population, now and for ever”.
Following the meeting, Pope Francis and
His Holiness Karekin prayed together in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel.
No comments:
Post a Comment