Intervention of Mons. Camillo BALLIN, Titular Bishop of Arna, Apostolic Vicar of Kuwait (KUWAIT)

In the Muslim tradition, the Gulf is the land sacred to the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, and no other religion should exist there. How can we live this affirmation with the reality of our Churches in the Gulf where there are approximately three million Catholics? They come from Asia and other regions. The reality of their presence, which cannot be overlooked, questions the Muslim assertion. We cannot diminish our assistance to these faithful to only the celebration of Sunday Mass, or even daily Mass, and our homilies.
We must recover the missionary aspect of the church. In fact, a Church that does not have a missionary spirit and which turns in on itself, on its own devotions and traditions, is destined to live a life that is not the life “in abundance” wanted by the Lord. In this, the Latin missionary congregations play a very important role.
To gather the charisms, the new ecclesial realities recognized by the Holy See, although often judged as suitable only for the Latin Church and little or not at all for the Eastern Churches, is urgent.
It is important to form Christians of our Churches in a truly Catholic and universal spirit, capable of breaking the shackles of provincialism (even religious), of nationalism (ethnocentric) and racism (latent).
I would like to assure the Beatitudes the Patriarchs and all our fellow bishops that in the Gulf region we are doing everything in our power and that, if they themselves were there, they could not do more.
We ask our Muslim brothers to give us the space to be able to pray properly.

[00097-02.02] [IN073] [Original text: French]