Vatican City, 11 September 2014 (VIS) –
Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the
Oriental Churches, addressed the Permanent Council of the United
States Episcopal Conference in Washington D.C. on Tuesday 9
September. The prelate declared that after his trips to Syria in
January 2011 and Iraq in December 2012, he “never would have
imagined that we would find ourselves in the present situation”. He
added, “Still in the twenty-first century, as if history has taught
nothing, we must witness barbarities and atrocities which strike
above all the weakest: the elderly, women and children. Along with my
preoccupations for the thousands of refugees … I have ever in mind
the bishops and priests still in the hands of kidnappers in Syria,
and I cannot forget the journalists so brutally killed”.
Cardinal Sandri remarked that, “On
the one hand, the action of the Holy Spirit continues to make the
Church fertile in every part of the world, manifesting its
characteristic maternity. Yet, on the other hand, it must be
recognised that the Churches, which gave rise in great part to the
diffusion of the Gospel in the Apostolic era, are now shaken at their
foundations and threatened in their very existence”. He also
referred to the difficulties experienced by the Church in Jerusalem,
reiterating his conviction that “a durable peace in the Holy Land
would contribute significantly to the stability of the whole Middle
East”, also highlighting “the drama of the Church in Antioch”.
He emphasised, “If these Churches, the historic mothers of the
evangelising mission, are struck at their foundations, we, as their
children, cannot be silent. … God chose that part of the world as
'the cradle of a universal plan of salvation in love'”, adding that
“for nearly two thousand years these Christians have kept alive the
flame of the first Pentecost in those lands”.
Cardinal Sandri repeated the words of
Pope Francis to the members of the Oriental Congregation at the end
of their Plenary Session last November: “Every Catholic owes a debt
of thanks to the Churches that live in that region. From these
Churches we may learn, among other things, the effort of the daily
exercise of the spirit of ecumenism and of interreligious dialogue.
The geographical, historical and cultural context in which they have
lived for centuries has indeed made them natural interlocutors with
numerous other Christian confessions and with other religions”.
He thanked the American Episcopal
Conference for the “constant and generous attention” shown to the
Oriental Churches, especially in relation to efforts to raise the
awareness of the political authorities. He also thanked the Catholic
Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) for the work of the Pontifical
Mission for Palestine, as well as Aid to the Church in Need and
Catholic Relief Services, and highlighted the “great hospitality
the United States has given over the decades to all of the Eastern
Churches in the diaspora”.
He mentioned the situation “of
extreme urgency” in Iraq, and remarked that “in dialogue both
clarity and fraternal respect are needed. … We have the
responsibility of educating our faithful lest they yield to a vision
of conflict between civilisations or religions. We must recall that
it has taken Catholic theological and biblical reflection centuries
to arrive at its present capacity for interpreting our sacred texts
without undue fear of violating the depositum fidei”.
He concluded by encouraging those
present to follow with attention the interventions of the Holy See in
its various modes and the representatives of the Holy See in various
international organisations, and to support the role of the United
Nations, an “effective forum through which to prevent the
repetition of violence and injustice”.
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