Pope meets Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos of
Jerusalem
Theophilos III, calling for an end to violence and
discrimination against people of different faiths in the Holy Land.
The Orthodox leader is visiting Rome from October 22nd to 25th, meeting with
top Vatican officials.
Listen to our report:
During the audience, Pope Francis recalled his own journey
to Jerusalem in 2014 and expressed his pleasure at the recent restoration
of Jesus’ tomb in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, a project that
saw close cooperation between the Orthodox, the Armenians and the Franciscan
Custody of the Holy Land.
Appeal for justice and peace
The pope conveyed his closeness to all those suffering from
the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, noting that the lack of
understanding continues “to create insecurity, the restriction of fundamental
rights and the flight of many people from their land”. He called for increased efforts
to achieve peace based on justice and recognition of the rights of all
people.
The Status Quo of Jerusalem must be defended and
preserved, the pope insisted, while violence, discrimination and intolerance
against Jewish, Christian or Muslim places of worship must be firmly rejected.
Call for harmony between Christians
Pope Francis also sent greetings to members of the different
Christian communities in the region, saying he hoped they may continue to be
recognized as citizens and believers who contribute to the
common good. This contribution will be all the more effective, he stressed, to
the extent that there is harmony between the different Churches.
Support young people
In particular the pope called for increased cooperation in
supporting Christian families and young people, so that they are not forced to
leave the country. While we cannot change the past or overlook the grave
failures of charity over the centuries, he said, Christians must look to a
future of reconciliation and communion, in order to fulfill the Lord’s prayer
“that they may all be one”.
Please find below Pope Francis’ full address to His
Beatitude Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
Your Beatitude, Dear Brothers,
With great
joy I welcome all of you to Rome. I reciprocate with gratitude and
fraternal affection the warm welcome Your Beatitude offered me during my visit
to Jerusalem. Still fresh in my mind is the attentiveness with which you
accompanied Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and myself in the Basilica that
preserves the places of the Lord’s crucifixion, burial and Resurrection.
I am still moved when I think of our moment of prayer in the aedicule of the
empty Tomb, and I again express my pleasure at the restoration of that most
holy place. It has not simply secured the integrity of a historical
monument, but also enabled the empty tomb to continue to testify that: “He has
risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him” (Mk 16:6). I
rejoice that the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Armenian
Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land have
worked together in such harmony on this project, as they also did for the
Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. I thank Your Beatitude very much
for your own efforts in this regard.
Our meeting
allows me to renew my closeness to all those suffering from the conflicts that
for decades have beset the Holy Land. The uncertainty of the situation
and the lack of understanding between the parties continue to create
insecurity, the restriction of fundamental rights, and the flight of many
people from their land. I invoke God’s help in this, and I ask all those
involved to intensify their efforts to achieve a stable peace based on justice
and recognition of the rights of all. To this end, any kind of violence,
discrimination or displays of intolerance against Jewish, Christian and Muslim
worshipers, or places of worship, must be firmly rejected. The Holy City,
whose Status Quo must be defended and preserved, ought to be a place where all
can live together peaceably; otherwise, the endless spiral of suffering will
continue for all.
I would
offer a particular greeting to the members of the various Christian communities
in the Holy Land. It is my hope that they will continue to be recognized
as an integral part of society and that, as citizens and believers in their own
right, they can continue tirelessly to contribute to the common good and the
growth of peace, striving to further reconciliation and concord. This
contribution will be the more effective to the extent that there is harmony
between the region’s different Churches. Particularly important in this
regard would be increased cooperation in supporting Christian families and
young people, so that they will not be forced to leave their land. By
working together in this delicate area, the faithful of different confessions
will also be able to grow in mutual knowledge and fraternal relations.
Here I
would reaffirm my heartfelt desire and commitment to progress on our way to
full unity, in obedience to Jesus’ fervent prayer in the Cenacle “that they may
all be one… so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21). I know that past
wounds continue to affect the memory of many people. It is not possible
to change the past, but, without forgetting grave failures of charity over the
centuries, let us look to a future of full reconciliation and fraternal
communion, and take up the work before us, as the Lord desires. Not to do
so today would be an even graver fault; it would be to disregard both the
urgent call of Christ and the signs of the times sown by the Spirit along the
Church’s path. Inspired by the same Spirit, may we not let the memory of
times marked by lack of communication or mutual accusations, or present
difficulties and uncertainty about the future, prevent us from walking together
towards visible unity, nor hinder us from praying and working together to
proclaim the Gospel and to serve those in need. In this regard, the
ongoing theological dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, in which the Greek
Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem participates actively and constructively, is
a comforting sign of hope on our journey. How good it would be to say of
Catholics and Orthodox living in Jerusalem what the Evangelist Luke said of the
first Christian community: “All who believed were together... one heart and
soul” (Acts 2:44; 4:32).
Your
Beatitude, I thank you and the distinguished members of your entourage most
cordially for your visit. I reaffirm my closeness to our Christian
brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, and my affection for our friends of the
other great religions who live there. I hope and pray that the day of a
stable and lasting peace for all will soon come. “Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you! [...] For my brethren and
companions’ sake I will say, ‘peace be within you!’” (Ps 122: 6-8).
[I would
like us now to pray together for this, in the words of the “Our Father”]
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