(October 28, 2008) Representatives of Christians in the East who were attending the
synod of bishops have launched a "call to peace," which Pope Benedict XVI seconded.
The statement particularly calls to mind the anti-Christian persecution and difficult
situations being lived by Catholics in the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon and India. The
signatories, including the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, wrote:
"We tremble in our hearts at the suffering of so many of our sons and daughters in
the East: children and youth, people in extreme difficulty because of age, health
and the want of spiritual and material basic necessities, [and] families that feel
more and more the temptation to discouragement regarding the present and the future.”And
we feel the duty to give a voice to their justified expectations so that a dignified
life in a fruitful social coexistence is soon guaranteed." The Holy Father mentioned
the statement during an address Sunday before praying the midday Angelus with crowds
gathered in St. Peter's Square. He said he made his own the appeal for peace for Christians
of the East, saying, "They do not ask for privileges, but only want to continue living
in their nation with their countrymen, as they have always done." The statement from
the synod fathers added: "Peace is a work of justice. It is an imperative from which
we do not want nor can we free ourselves. Let us ask, for this reason, in particular
for the Holy Land, birthplace of Christ the redeemer, for Lebanon, Iraq and India,
for peace in justice, guaranteed by a true religious liberty."