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   WE MUST NEVER RESIGN OURSELVES TO THE ABSENCE OF PEACE   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 24 OCT 2010 (VIS) - At 9.30 a.m. today in St. Peter's Basilica,   
   Benedict XVI presided at the celebration of the Eucharist to mark the closure   
   of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, which has   
   been held in the Vatican for the past fortnight on the theme: "The Catholic   
   Church in the Middle East. Communion and Witness. Now the company of those who   
   believed were of one heart and soul".   
      
   The Pope concelebrated Mass with 177 Synod Fathers (nineteen cardinals, nine   
   patriarchs, seventy-two archbishops, sixty-seven bishops and ten priests) and   
   sixty-nine collaborators.   
      
   Participating in the Eucharistic prayer were His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah   
   Pierre Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon, president   
   delegate "ad honorem"; His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of   
   Babylon of the Chaldeans, Iraq, president delegate "ad honorem"; Cardinal   
   Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,   
   president delegate; His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of   
   Antioch of the Syrians, Lebanon, president delegate; His Beatitude Antonios   
   Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, Egypt, relator general;   
   Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, and   
   Archbishop Joseph Soueif of Cyprus of the Maronites, Cyprus, special secretary.   
      
   In his homily, the Holy Father noted how today's first reading and responsorial   
   psalm "stress the theme of prayer, emphasising that it is much more powerful in   
   God's heart when those who pray suffer want and affliction. ... Our thoughts go   
   to our many brothers and sisters who live in the region of the Middle East and   
   who find themselves in trying situations, at times very burdensome, both   
   because of material poverty and because of discouragement, tension and,   
   sometimes, fear.   
      
   "Today", Benedict XVI added, "the Word of God also offers us a light of   
   consoling hope where it presents prayer, personified, that 'will not desist   
   until the Most High responds and does justice for the righteous, and executes   
   judgement'. This link between prayer and justice makes us think of many   
   situations in the world, particularly in the Middle East. The cry of the poor   
   and the oppressed finds an immediate echo in God, Who desires to intervene to   
   create a way out, to restore a future of freedom, a horizon of hope".   
      
   "The synodal assembly which concludes today always kept in mind the icon of the   
   first Christian community described in the Acts of the Apostles: 'The whole   
   group of believers was united, heart and soul'. This is a reality we   
   experienced over these days, in which we shared the joys and pains, the   
   concerns and hopes of Christians in the Middle East. We experienced the unity   
   of the Church in the variety of Churches present in that region. ... Thus have   
   we enhanced the liturgical, spiritual and theological wealth of the Eastern   
   Catholic Churches, as well as of the Latin Church. ... We hope that this   
   positive experience may be repeated in the various communities of the Middle   
   East, encouraging the participation of the faithful in liturgical celebrations   
   of other Catholic rites, thus opening themselves to the dimensions of the   
   universal Church.   
      
   "Joint prayer also helped us to face the challenges of the Catholic Church in   
   the Middle East. One of these challenges is communion within each 'sui iuris'   
   Church, as well as the relationships between the various Catholic Churches of   
   different traditions. As today's Gospel reminded us, we need humility in order   
   to recognise our limitations, our errors and omissions, in order to be able to   
   be truly 'united, heart and soul' Fuller communion within the Catholic Church   
   also favours ecumenical dialogue with other Churches and ecclesial communities.   
   During this synodal assembly the Catholic Church has reiterated its profound   
   desire to pursue such dialogue".   
      
   "The words of the Lord Jesus may be applied to Christians in the Middle East:   
   'There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to   
   give you the kingdom'. Indeed, even if they are few, they are bearers of the   
   Good News of the love of God for man, love which revealed itself in the Holy   
   Land in the person of Jesus Christ. This Word of salvation, strengthened with   
   the grace of the Sacraments, resounds with particular strength in the places   
   where, by Divine Providence, it was written. It is the only Word able to break   
   the vicious circle of vengeance, hate, and violence. From a purified heart, at   
   peace with God and neighbour, arise intentions and initiatives for peace at the   
   local, national, and international level. In these actions, to whose   
   accomplishment the whole international community is called, Christians as   
   full-fledged citizens can and must do their part in the spirit of the   
   Beatitudes, becoming builders of peace and apostles of reconciliation for the   
   benefit of all society".   
      
   The Pope continued: "Conflicts, wars, violence and terrorism have gone on for   
   too long in the Middle East. Peace, which is a gift of God, is also the result   
   of the efforts of men of goodwill, of national and international institutions,   
   in particular of the States most involved in the search for a solution to   
   conflicts. We must never resign ourselves to the absence of peace. Peace is   
   possible. Peace is urgent. Peace is the indispensable condition for a life of   
   dignity for individuals and society. Peace is also the best remedy to avoid   
   emigration from the Middle East".   
      
   Another contribution Christians can make to society is to promote "authentic   
   freedom of religion and conscience, one of the fundamental human rights that   
   each State should always respect. In numerous countries of the Middle East   
   there exists freedom of belief, while the space given to the freedom of   
   religious practice is often quite limited. Increasing this space of freedom is   
   essential in order to guarantee that all members of the various religious   
   communities may enjoy the true freedom to live and profess their faith. This   
   topic could become the subject of dialogue between Christians and Muslims, a   
   dialogue whose urgency and usefulness was reiterated by the Synod Fathers".   
      
   At the end of his homily, the Holy Father recalled how the synodal assembly   
   "often underlined the need to present the Gospel anew to people who do not know   
   it well or who have even moved away from the Church. Frequent mention was made   
   of the need for a new evangelisation in the Middle East. ... For this reason,   
   having consulted with the episcopacy of the whole world and listened to the   
   Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, I have   
   decided to dedicate the next Ordinary General Assembly, in 2012, to the   
   following theme: 'Nova evangelizatio ad christianam fidem tradendam - The new   
   evangelisation for the transmission of the Christian faith'".   
      
   And the Pope concluded: "Dear brothers and sisters of the Middle East! May the   
   experience of these days assure you that you are never alone, that you are   
   always accompanied by the Holy See and the whole Church, which, having been   
   born in Jerusalem, spread through the Middle East and then the rest of the   
   world".   
   HML/VIS 20101025 (1190)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)