Vatican City, 23 December 2014 (VIS) –
Pope Francis has written a letter to Christians in the Middle East to
mark the occasion of Christmas, aware that for many of them “the
music of [their] Christmas hymns will also be accompanied by tears
and sighs”. The Holy Father comments on the conflicts that continue
to afflict a part of the world that has long experienced trials and
tribulations, and that is now further tormented by terrorism on an
unprecedented scale “which has perpetrated all kinds of abuses and
inhuman acts”, compelling other ethnic and religious groups to
abandon their homelands where they have “the duty and the right to
take full part in the life and progress” of their nations. He also
underlines the central role of Christians in the East in the life of
the Church, which needs the support and prayer of all the ecclesial
community, and he launches a renewed appeal to the international
community to promote a global solution to the problems of the region.
“How much longer”, he asks, “must the Middle East suffer from
the lack of peace?”.
The full text of the letter is
published here below:
“Dear brothers and sisters: 'Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so
that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction, with
the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God'.
When I thought of writing to you, our
Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East, these words of
Saint Paul immediately came to mind. I write to you just before
Christmas, knowing that for many of you the music of your Christmas
hymns will also be accompanied by tears and sighs. Nonetheless, the
birth of the Son of God in our human flesh is an indescribable
mystery of consolation: 'For the grace of God has appeared for the
salvation of all people'.
Sadly, afflictions and tribulations
have not been lacking, even more recently, in the Middle East. They
have been aggravated in the past months because of the continuing
hostilities in the region, but especially because of the work of a
newer and disturbing terrorist organisation, of previously
unimaginable dimensions, which has perpetrated all kinds of abuses
and inhuman acts. It has particularly affected a number of you, who
have been brutally driven out of your native lands, where Christians
have been present since apostolic times.
Nor, in writing to you, can I remain
silent about the members of other religious and ethnic groups who are
also experiencing persecution and the effects of these conflicts.
Every day I follow the new reports of the enormous suffering endured
by many people in the Middle East. I think in particular of the
children, the young mothers, the elderly, the homeless and all
refugees, the starving and those facing the prospect of a hard winter
without an adequate shelter. This suffering cries out to God and it
calls for our commitment to prayer and concrete efforts to help in
any way possible. I want to express to all of you my personal
closeness and solidarity, as well as that of the whole Church, and to
offer you a word of consolation and hope.
Dear brothers and sisters who
courageously bear witness to Jesus in the land blessed by the Lord,
our consolation and our hope is Christ himself. I encourage you,
then, to remain close to him, like branches on the vine, in the
certainty that no tribulation, distress or persecution can separate
us from him. May the trials which you are presently enduring
strengthen the faith and the fidelity of each and all of you.
I pray that you will be able to
experience a fraternal communion modelled on that of the first
community of Jerusalem. The unity willed by our Lord is more
necessary than ever at these difficult times; it is a gift from God,
who appeals to our freedom and awaits our response. May the word of
God, the sacraments, prayer and fellowship nourish and continually
renew your communities.
The situation in which are you living
is a powerful summons to holiness of life, as saints and martyrs of
every Christian community have attested. I think with affection and
veneration of the pastors and faithful who have lately been killed,
often merely for the fact that they were Christians. I think also of
those who have been kidnapped, including several Orthodox bishops and
priests of various rites. May they soon return, safe and sound, to
their homes and communities! I ask God to grant that all this
suffering united to the Lord’s cross will bring about much good for
the Church and for all the peoples in the Middle East.
In the midst of hostility and
conflicts, the communion which you experience in fraternity and
simplicity is a sign of God’s Kingdom. I am gratified by the good
relations and cooperation which exist between the patriarchs of the
Eastern Catholic Churches and those of the Orthodox Churches, and
also between the faithful of the different Churches. The sufferings
which Christians endure contribute immensely to the cause of unity.
It is the ecumenism of blood, which demands a trusting abandonment to
the working of the Holy Spirit.
May you always bear witness to Jesus
amid your difficulties! Your very presence is precious for the Middle
East. You are a small flock, but one with a great responsibility in
the land where Christianity was born and first spread. You are like
leaven in the dough. Even more than the many contributions which the
Church makes in the areas of education, healthcare and social
services, which are esteemed by all, the greatest source of
enrichment in the region is the presence of Christians themselves,
your presence. Thank you for your perseverance!
Your efforts to cooperate with people
of other religions, with Jews and Muslims, is another sign of the
Kingdom of God. The more difficult the situation, the more
interreligious dialogue becomes necessary. There is no other way.
Dialogue, grounded in an attitude of openness, in truth and love, is
also the best antidote to the temptation to religious fundamentalism,
which is a threat for followers of every religion. At the same time,
dialogue is a service to justice and a necessary condition for the
peace which all so ardently desire.
The majority of you live in
environments which are predominantly Muslim. You can help your Muslim
fellow citizens to present with discernment a more authentic image of
Islam, as so many of them desire, reiterating that Islam is a
religion of peace, one which is compatible with respect for human
rights and favours peaceful coexistence on the part of all. This will
prove beneficial for them and for all society. The tragic situation
faced by our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, as well as by
the Yazidi and members of other religious and ethnic communities,
demands that all religious leaders clearly speak out to condemn these
crimes unanimously and unambiguously, and to denounce the practice of
invoking religion in order to justify them.
Dear brothers and sisters, almost all
of you are native citizens of your respective countries, and as such
you have the duty and the right to take full part in the life and
progress of your nations. Within the region you are called to be
artisans of peace, reconciliation and development, to promote
dialogue, to build bridges in the spirit of the Beatitudes, and to
proclaim the Gospel of peace, in a spirit of ready cooperation with
all national and international authorities.
In a special way I would like to
express my esteem and gratitude to you, dear brother patriarchs,
bishops, priests, and men and women religious, who accompany the
journey of your communities with loving concern. How valuable is the
presence and work of those completely consecrated to the Lord,
serving him in their brothers and sisters, especially those in
greatest need, and thus witnessing to his grandeur and his infinite
love! How important is the presence of pastors in the midst of their
flocks, especially in times of trouble!
To the young I send a paternal embrace.
I pray for your faithfulness, your human and Christian development,
and the attainment of your hopes and dreams. I repeat to you: 'Do not
be afraid or ashamed to be Christian. Your relationship with Jesus
will help you to cooperate generously with your fellow citizens,
whatever their religious affiliation'.
To the elderly I express my respect and
esteem. You are the memory of your peoples. I pray that this memory
will become a seed which can grow and benefit generations yet to
come.
I wish to encourage all of you who work
in the very important fields of charity and education. I admire the
work you do, especially through Caritas and other Catholic charitable
organisations in the different countries, in providing help to anyone
who asks, without discrimination. Through this witness of charity you
help support the life of society and you contribute to the peace for
which the region hungers as if for bread. Education too is critical
for the future of society. How important it is for promoting the
culture of encounter, respect for the dignity of each person and the
absolute value of every human being!
Dear brothers and sisters, even though
you may not be numerous, you play a significant role in the Church
and in the countries where you live. The entire Church is close to
you and supports you, with immense respect and affection for your
communities and your mission. We will continue to assist you with our
prayers and with every other means at our disposal.
At the same time I continue to urge the
international community to address your needs and those of other
suffering minorities, above all by promoting peace through
negotiation and diplomacy, for the sake of stemming and stopping as
soon as possible the violence which has already caused so much harm.
I once more condemn in the strongest possible terms the traffic of
arms. Instead, what are needed are plans and initiatives for peace,
so as to further a global solution to the region’s problems. How
much longer must the Middle East suffer from the lack of peace? We
must not resign ourselves to conflicts as if change were not
possible! In the spirit of my pilgrimage to the Holy Land and the
subsequent prayer meeting in the Vatican with the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents, I encourage you to continue to pray for peace
in the Middle East. May those forced to leave their lands be able to
return and to live in dignity and security. May humanitarian aid
increase and always have as its central concern the good of each
individual and each country, respecting their identity and without
any other agendas. May the entire Church and the international
community become ever more conscious of the importance of your
presence in the region.
Dear Christian brothers and sisters of
the Middle East, you have an enormous responsibility and in meeting
it you are not alone. That is why I wanted to write to you, to
encourage you and to let you know how precious your presence and your
mission are in the land which the Lord has blessed. Your witness
means much to me! Thank you! I pray for you and your intentions
every day. I thank you because I know that, amid your sufferings, you
also pray for me and for my service to the Church. I do hope to have
the chance to come to you in person and to visit and to comfort you.
May the Virgin Mary, the All-Holy Mother of God and our Mother,
accompany you and protect you always with her tender love. To all of
you and your families I impart my Apostolic Blessing, and I pray that
your celebration of Christmas will be filled with the love and peace
of Christ our Saviour”.
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