Pope calls Catholics and Oriental Orthodox to work for
peace
(Vatican Radio) Wherever there is violence and conflict,
Christians are called to work patiently to restore concord and hope. That was
Pope Francis’ message on Friday to members of the Joint International
Commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the
Oriental Orthodox Churches.
The group, which is meeting in the Vatican this week,
includes representatives of the six ancient Churches of the East which have
been separated from the rest of the Christian world since the middle of the
fifth century.
In his words to the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox leaders,
Pope Francis noted that many of them belong to Churches that witness daily the
spread of violence and “brutality perpetrated by fundamentalist extremism”. We
are aware, he said, “that situations of such tragic suffering more easily take
root in the context of great poverty, injustice and social exclusion”
This is due to instability, often created by foreign
interests, he said, or by earlier conflicts that have made it easier to
manipulate and incite people to hatred. The Pope said Christians are called to
draw near to those who suffer, to sow concord and to work patiently together to
restore hope by offering the consoling peace that comes from the Lord.
Pope Francis said he joined with the Church leaders in
praying for an end to conflict and for God’s closeness to those who have
suffered so much, especially children, the sick and the elderly. In a
particular way, he said his “heart goes out to the bishops, priests,
consecrated men and women, and the lay faithful who have been cruelly abducted,
taken hostage or enslaved”.
The martyrs and saints of all traditions, the Pope said, can
inspire us to hasten along the path to full unity. Wherever violence begets
more violence, he said, there our response must be to shun strategies of power
and bring the peace and reconciliation of the risen Christ.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’s address
to the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the
Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches
Dear Brothers in Christ,
In offering you a joyful welcome, I thank you for your presence and for the
kind words that Metropolitan Bishoy addressed to me on your behalf.
Through you, I send cordial greetings to the Heads of the Oriental Orthodox
Churches, my venerable brothers.
I am grateful for the work of your Commission, which began in 2003 and is now
holding its fourteenth meeting. Last year you began an examination of the
nature of the sacraments, especially baptism. It is precisely in baptism
that we rediscovered the basis of communion between Christians. As
Catholics and Oriental Orthodox, we can repeat the words of the Apostle Paul:
“For in the one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor
12:13). In the course of this week, you have further reflected on historical,
theological and ecclesiological aspects of the Holy Eucharist, “the source and
summit of the whole Christian life”, which admirably expresses and brings about
the unity of God’s people (Lumen Gentium, 11). I encourage you to
persevere in your efforts and I trust that your work may point out helpful ways
to advance on our journey. It will thus facilitate the path towards that
greatly desired day when we will have the grace of celebrating the Lord’s
Sacrifice at the same altar, as a sign of fully restored ecclesial communion.
Many of you belong to Churches that witness daily the spread of violence and
acts of brutality perpetrated by fundamentalist extremism. We are aware
that situations of such tragic suffering more easily take root in the context
of great poverty, injustice and social exclusion, due to instability created by
partisan interests, often from elsewhere, and by earlier conflicts that have
led to situations of dire need, cultural and spiritual deserts where it becomes
easy to manipulate and incite people to hatred. Each day your Churches,
in drawing near to those who suffer, are called to sow concord and to work
patiently to restore hope by offering the consoling peace that comes from the
Lord, a peace we are obliged together to bring to a world wounded and in pain.
Saint Paul also writes: “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor
12:26). Your sufferings are our sufferings. I join you in praying
for an end to the conflict and for God’s closeness to those who have endured so
much, especially children, the sick and the elderly. In a particular way,
my heart goes out to the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and the
lay faithful who have been cruelly abducted, taken hostage or enslaved.
May the Christian communities be sustained by the intercession and example of
our many martyrs and saints who bore courageous witness to Christ. They
show us the heart of our faith, which does not consist in a generic message of
peace and reconciliation but in Jesus himself, crucified and risen. He is
our peace and our reconciliation (cf. Eph 2:14; 2 Cor 5:18). As his
disciples, we are called to testify everywhere, with Christian fortitude, to
his humble love that reconciles men and women in every age. Wherever
violence begets more violence and sows death, there our response must be the
pure leaven of the Gospel, which, eschewing strategies of power, allows fruits
of life to emerge from arid ground and hope to dawn after nights of terror.
The centre of the Christian life, the mystery of Jesus who died and rose out of
love, is also the point of reference for our journey towards full unity.
Once more the martyrs show us the way. How many times has the sacrifice
of their lives led Christians, otherwise divided in so many things, to
unity! The martyrs and saints of all ecclesial traditions are already one
in Christ (cf. Jn 17:22); their names are written in the one common martyrology
of God’s Church. Having sacrificed themselves on earth out of love, they
dwell in the one heavenly Jerusalem, gathered around the Lamb who was slain
(cf. Rev 7:13-17). Their lives, offered as a gift, call us to communion,
to hasten along the path to full unity. Just as in the early Church the
blood of the martyrs was the seed of new Christians, so in our own day may the
blood of so many martyrs be a seed of unity between believers, a sign and
instrument of a future of communion and peace.
Dear brothers, I am grateful for the efforts you make towards attaining this
goal. In thanking you for your visit, I invoke upon you and your ministry
the blessing of the Lord and the loving protection of the Holy Mother of God.
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