Vatican City, 15 June 2015 (VIS) –
The lands of the Middle East, marred by years of conflict, are also
“marked by the footprints of those who seek refuge and soaked with
the blood of many men and women, including numerous Christians
persecuted for their faith”, said the Holy Father as he received in
audience the members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental
Churches (ROACO), a year after their pilgrimage and Francis' plea for
peace in the region, when all hoped that “the seed of
reconciliation would have borne greater fruits”.
Recalling the recent trip to Iraq by a
delegation of the ROACO, during which they met with displaced persons
from the Nineveh Plain and with small groups from Syria, the Pope
affirmed, “in those eyes that asked for help and pleaded for peace
and to return home there was Jesus Himself Who looked at you, asking
for that charity that makes us Christians. Every form of assistance,
so as not to fall into the trap of uncompromising efficiency or mere
aid that does not promote persons or peoples, must always be reborn
from this blessing of the Lord Who reaches us when we have the
courage to look at the situations and the brothers before us”.
Nevertheless, “the world seems to
have become aware of the tragedy of recent months, and has opened its
eyes, taking account of the millennial presence of Christians in the
Middle East. Initiatives for raising awareness and offering aid to
them to to others unjustly affected by violence have flourished.
However, further efforts must be made to eliminate what would appear
to be tacit agreements by which the lives of thousands and thousands
of families – women, men, children, elderly – in the balance of
interests appear to weigh less than petroleum and weapons, and while
peace and justice is proclaimed, it is accepted that the traffickers
of death act in those lands. I therefore encourage you, as you carry
out your service of Christian charity, to condemn all that tramples
human dignity”.
The Holy Father mentioned that in these
days ROACO is dedicating special attention to Ethiopia, Eritrea and
Armenia. “The first two, from this year, canonically constitute two
separate realities, inasmuch as they are metropolitan sui generis
Churches, but they remain profoundly linked by their common
Alexandrian-Gheez tradition”. He urged the ROACO “to help these
ancient Christian communities to feel that they are members in the
evangelical mission and to offer, especially to the young, prospects
of hope and growth. Without this, it will not be possible to stop the
migratory flow in which so many sons and daughters of the region set
out to reach the Mediterranean coasts, risking their lives”.
Armenia, “cradle of the first nation to receive baptism, also has a
great history rich in culture, faith and martyrdom. Support for the
Church in that land contributes to the path towards the visible unity
of all believers in Christ”.
The Pope concluded by dedicating to the
Oriental Catholic Churches some words from St. Ephrem's Hymn of
Resurrection: “Accept, our King, our offering, and give us in
return our salvation. Pacify devastated lands and rebuild the
burned-down churches so that, when there will be great peace, we may
weave a great crown from flowers from all places, so that the Lord of
peace may be crowned”.
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