At 11:30 this morning, in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the participants of the 86th meeting of Workers for Assistance to the Oriental Churches (ROACO), which is taking place in Rome, and focused on the theme: The situation facing Christians and the Church in Egypt, Syria and the Holy Land.
Dear friends,
1. Welcome! I welcome you with joy, and give thank to God, together with our brothers and sisters of the Orient, represented here by some of the Pastors and your Superiors and Collaborators from the Congregation for Oriental churches, as well as members of the Agencies which make up the ROACO. I am grateful to God for the fidelity to Christ, to the Gospel and to the Church which Eastern Catholics have demonstrated for centuries, expending every effort for the Christian name and keeping the faith (2 Tim 4:6-8). I am united with them in gratitude. I extend my gratitude to each of you, and to the Churches which you represent, for all the work that they are involved in and I accept the cordial greetings which have been offered to me today by the Cardinal Prefect. Like my predecessors, I wish to encourage and support you in the exercise of charity which is the only source of pride for the disciples of Jesus. This charity comes from the love of God in Christ: the Cross is the vertex, a luminous sign of the mercy and charity of God for everyone, that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5).
2. I consider it a must that I should inspire charity, which is inseparable from the faith in which the Bishop of Rome, Successor of the Apostle Peter, must confirm his brothers. The Year of faith allows us to profess even more convincingly, the love of God in Christ Jesus. I ask you to be one with me in uniting faith in charity, which is inherent in Petrine Service. Saint Ignatius of Antioch has a perfect expression which defines the Church of Rome: the Church which presides in charity (Letter to the Romans, greeting). Therefore, I invite you to work in the faith and charity of Jesus Christ our God (ibid), remembering that our work will be effective only if it is rooted in faith, fed by prayer, especially the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of faith and of charity.
3. Dear friends, this is the first evidence that we have to offer of our service to God and to our brothers, and only in this way will every one of our actions bear fruit. Continue your intelligent and caring work of delivering well thought-out and coordinated projects, which give appropriate priority to education and formation especially for youth. But don't ever forget that these undertakings must be signs of your profession of the love of God which constitutes the Christian identity. The Church, in the variety and richness of its components and activities, does not find its safety in human means. The Church is of God, it has faith in his presence and in his action, and brings into the world the power of God which is love. The post-synodal Apostolic Exortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente is a precious point of reference for you and for your work.
4. The presence of the Patriarch of Alexandria for the Copts and of Babylon for the Chaldeans, and of the Papal Representatives in the Holy Land and Syria, as well as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and of the Custody of the Holy Land, transports me in spirit to the Sacred Sites of our Redemption, but they revitalize in me a sincere ecclesial preoccupation for the conditions faced by so many of our brothers and sisters who live in a situation of insecurity and violence which seems to be endless and does not spare the innocent and the weak. We believers must pray constantly and trust that the Lord will grant the longed-for peace, together with a sharing in concrete solidarity. I wish once more to issue a heartfelt call to all the leaders of people and of international organizations, to believers of every religion and to men and women of good will, to put an end to all the pain, all the violence, all the religious, cultural and social discrimination. The fight that sows death leaves room for the meeting and reconciliation that bears life. To all those who suffer, I say with conviction: never loose hope! The Church is with you, accompanies you and supports you! I ask you to do everything possible to alleviate the serious needs of the suffering populations, particularly those in Syria, the people of beloved Syria, refugees, so many refugees. Rightly, Saint Ignatius of Antioch asked the Christians of Rome: remember in your prayer the Church in Syria ... Jesus Christ watch over them and keep them in your love (Letter to the Romans, IX, I). I will also repeat these words: remember it in your prayer for the Church of Syria ... may Jesus Christ watch over them in charity. To the Lord of life, I confide the innumerable victims and implore the Blessed Mother of God, that she may console those who are facing great tribulations (Rev 7:14). It's true, Syria is facing great tribulations!
To each of you, to all your agencies and to all the Oriental Churches, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.
Address of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with Aid Workers
for Assistance to the Oriental Churches
Dear friends,
1. Welcome! I welcome you with joy, and give thank to God, together with our brothers and sisters of the Orient, represented here by some of the Pastors and your Superiors and Collaborators from the Congregation for Oriental churches, as well as members of the Agencies which make up the ROACO. I am grateful to God for the fidelity to Christ, to the Gospel and to the Church which Eastern Catholics have demonstrated for centuries, expending every effort for the Christian name and keeping the faith (2 Tim 4:6-8). I am united with them in gratitude. I extend my gratitude to each of you, and to the Churches which you represent, for all the work that they are involved in and I accept the cordial greetings which have been offered to me today by the Cardinal Prefect. Like my predecessors, I wish to encourage and support you in the exercise of charity which is the only source of pride for the disciples of Jesus. This charity comes from the love of God in Christ: the Cross is the vertex, a luminous sign of the mercy and charity of God for everyone, that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5).
2. I consider it a must that I should inspire charity, which is inseparable from the faith in which the Bishop of Rome, Successor of the Apostle Peter, must confirm his brothers. The Year of faith allows us to profess even more convincingly, the love of God in Christ Jesus. I ask you to be one with me in uniting faith in charity, which is inherent in Petrine Service. Saint Ignatius of Antioch has a perfect expression which defines the Church of Rome: the Church which presides in charity (Letter to the Romans, greeting). Therefore, I invite you to work in the faith and charity of Jesus Christ our God (ibid), remembering that our work will be effective only if it is rooted in faith, fed by prayer, especially the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of faith and of charity.
3. Dear friends, this is the first evidence that we have to offer of our service to God and to our brothers, and only in this way will every one of our actions bear fruit. Continue your intelligent and caring work of delivering well thought-out and coordinated projects, which give appropriate priority to education and formation especially for youth. But don't ever forget that these undertakings must be signs of your profession of the love of God which constitutes the Christian identity. The Church, in the variety and richness of its components and activities, does not find its safety in human means. The Church is of God, it has faith in his presence and in his action, and brings into the world the power of God which is love. The post-synodal Apostolic Exortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente is a precious point of reference for you and for your work.
4. The presence of the Patriarch of Alexandria for the Copts and of Babylon for the Chaldeans, and of the Papal Representatives in the Holy Land and Syria, as well as the Auxiliary Bishop of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and of the Custody of the Holy Land, transports me in spirit to the Sacred Sites of our Redemption, but they revitalize in me a sincere ecclesial preoccupation for the conditions faced by so many of our brothers and sisters who live in a situation of insecurity and violence which seems to be endless and does not spare the innocent and the weak. We believers must pray constantly and trust that the Lord will grant the longed-for peace, together with a sharing in concrete solidarity. I wish once more to issue a heartfelt call to all the leaders of people and of international organizations, to believers of every religion and to men and women of good will, to put an end to all the pain, all the violence, all the religious, cultural and social discrimination. The fight that sows death leaves room for the meeting and reconciliation that bears life. To all those who suffer, I say with conviction: never loose hope! The Church is with you, accompanies you and supports you! I ask you to do everything possible to alleviate the serious needs of the suffering populations, particularly those in Syria, the people of beloved Syria, refugees, so many refugees. Rightly, Saint Ignatius of Antioch asked the Christians of Rome: remember in your prayer the Church in Syria ... Jesus Christ watch over them and keep them in your love (Letter to the Romans, IX, I). I will also repeat these words: remember it in your prayer for the Church of Syria ... may Jesus Christ watch over them in charity. To the Lord of life, I confide the innumerable victims and implore the Blessed Mother of God, that she may console those who are facing great tribulations (Rev 7:14). It's true, Syria is facing great tribulations!
To each of you, to all your agencies and to all the Oriental Churches, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.
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