This morning Pope Francis received in audience the participants in the 95th Plenary Assembly of the Meeting of the Aid Works for the Eastern Churches. ROACO is an example of the synodal path of the universal Church. From Syria to Tigray, the commitment to alleviate the suffering of peoples. In the Middle East “ecumenism already exists as a local reality” in common “suffering and witness”.
Vatican City () – To launch “the symphony of charity” it is necessary to “seek agreement” and avoid “any temptation to isolate oneself and close oneself” in oneself and in the respective groups, remaining open to “welcome ” of the brothers and sisters who want to put themselves at the service of the Eastern Churches. This was stated this morning by Pope Francis when he received in the Vatican the participants in the 95th plenary assembly of ROACO (Meeting of Aid Works for the Eastern Churches), which takes place between June 21 and 23 in Rome. Referring to the current moment, the pontiff stressed that “ROACO’s very intuition corresponds to the synodal path that the universal Church is following”, following a project that involves “diverse actors”, from the bishop to the pontifical agencies and representations.
Continuing with the musical metaphor, the Pope explained that it is “important to build an agreement, tune in to mutual listening, which facilitates discernment and leads to shared options.” He cited as an example the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Syria, promoted during the Conference held last March in Damascus. “In the desert of poverty and discouragement – he underlined – as a result of the 12 years of war that have prostrated the beloved and tormented Syria, you have been able to discover as a Church that the sources to make the steppes flourish again and give water to the thirsty will only sprout again if each one is capable of abandoning a certain self-referentiality and listening to others to identify the true priorities”. The Pope called on the international community and local authorities to fulfill their obligations, so that “they do not extinguish the last flame of hope for that people who suffer so much.”
Francis then recalled the special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East and the tenth anniversary, in September, of the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in the Middle East promulgated by Benedict XVI during his trip to Lebanon. In 10 years, he pointed out, many things have happened, from the sad ones “that involved Iraq and Syria, to the convulsions in the country of the Cedars.” However, there are also “lights of hope” such as the “signing of the Document on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi”. “It will be necessary -he observes- to verify on the ground the fruits of the Synod for the Middle East; In the meantime, it is necessary to find up-to-date tools and appropriate ways to express closeness to the churches in the region”, beginning with the resumption of “the work of the coordination table on Syria and Iraq that began a few years ago, also including Lebanon”.
Towards the end of his speech, the pontiff invited people to follow the example of the Good Samaritan in the most critical situations: from the “drama caused by the conflict that from Tigray has once again wounded Ethiopia and, in part, neighboring Eritrea, and especially for the beloved and martyred Ukraine” where the drama of Cain and Abel is repeated” and in which “Luciferian violence” has been unleashed”. We need prayer, concrete help in charity and all Christian means “so that weapons give way to negotiations.” In this dramatic context, he wanted to thank the work done to “bring the caress of the Church and the Pope to Ukraine and to the countries where refugees have been received”.
The Pope also spoke about the Middle East in the audience granted to the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. In this region, Francis explained, “ecumenism already exists as a mainly local reality. Many faithful – I am thinking above all of those from the Middle East but also of those who emigrated to the West – already experience the ecumenism of life in the daily life of their families, of work, of the people they meet every day. And they often experience together the ecumenism of suffering in common witness to the name of Christ, sometimes even at the cost of their lives.”
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