MESSAGE OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS FOR THE MIDDLE EAST TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD
(October 23, 2010) The Synod Fathers on Friday approved the final message to the
People of God by the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East
which Pope Benedict XVI will formally conclude on Sunday with a solemn Eucharistic
celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Oct. 10-24 Middle East Synod had
as its theme, “Communion and Witness: ‘Now the company of those who believed were
of one heart and soul.’” Below is the full text of the English version (original
in Arabic) of the message:
“Now the company of those who believed were
of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32) To our brother priests, deacons,
monks, nuns, consecrated persons, our dear lay faithful and all people of good will.
Introduction
1.May
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the communion of
the Holy Spirit be with you.
The Synod of Bishops
for the Middle East was for us a new Pentecost. “Pentecost is the original event but
also a permanent dynamism, and the Synod of Bishops is a privileged moment in which
the grace of Pentecost may be renewed in the Church’s journey” (Pope Benedict XVI,
Homily at the Opening Liturgy, 10 October 2010).
We
have come to Rome, We the Patriarchs and Bishops of the Catholic Churches in the Middle
East with all our spiritual, liturgical, cultural and canonical patrimonies, carrying
in our hearts the concerns of our people.
For the
very first time, we have come together in a Synod, gathered around His Holiness, Pope
Benedict XVI, with both cardinals and archbishops, who are heads of the various offices
in the Roman Curia, presidents of episcopal conferences around the world, who are
concerned with the issues of the Middle East, representatives from the Orthodox Churches
and ecclesial communi¬ties and Jewish and Muslim guests.
We
express our gratitude to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI for his care and for his
teachings, which guide the journey of the Church in general and that of our Eastern
Churches in particular, especially in the areas of justice and peace. We thank the
episcopal conferences for their solidarity, their presence in our midst during their
pilgrimages to the holy sites and their visits to our communities. We thank them for
guiding our Churches in the various aspects of our life. We thank the different ecclesial
organisations for their effective assistance.
Guided
by the Holy Scriptures and the living Tradition, we have reflected together on the
present and the future of Christians and all peoples of the Middle East. We have meditated
on the issues of this region of the world which God willed, in the mystery of his
love, to be the birthplace of his universal plan of salvation. From there, Abraham’s
vocation was initiated. There, the Word of God, Jesus Christ, took flesh in the womb
of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. There, Jesus proclaimed the Gospel
of life and the kingdom. There, he died to redeem humanity and free us from sin. There,
he rose from the dead to give new life to all. There, the Church was formed and went
forth to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to the world.
The
primary aim of the Synod is pastoral. Thus, we have carried in our hearts the life,
the pains and the hopes of our people as well as the challenges they need to confront
each day “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
that has been given to us” (Rm 5:5). Dear sisters and brothers, we therefore address
this message to you. We wish it to be an appeal to safeguard the faith, based on the
Word of God, to collaboration in unity and to communion in the witness of love in
every aspect of life.
I. The Church in the Middle
East: Communion and Witness throughout History The Journey of Faith in the
Middle East
2. In the Middle East, the first Christian
community was born. From there, the apostles after Pentecost went evangelising the
whole world. There, the early Christian community lived amid tensions and persecutions,
“they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42), and no one of them was in need. There, the
first martyrs, with their blood, fortified the foundations of the nascent Church.
After them, the hermits filled the deserts with the perfume of their holiness and
their faith. There, the Fathers of the Eastern Church lived and continued to nourish
the Church in both the East and West through their teachings. In the early centuries
and later, missionaries from our Churches departed for the Far East and the West,
bringing with them the light of Christ. We are the heirs of that heritage. We need
to continue to transmit their message to future generations.
In
the past, Our Churches provided saints, priests and consecrated persons; they still
do in the present. Our Churches have also sponsored many institutions which contributed
- and still do - to the well being of our societies and countries, sacrificing self
for the sake of the human person, who is created to the image of God and is the bearer
of his likeness. Some of our Churches continue to send out missionaries who carry
the Word of God to many places in the world. The pastoral, apostolic and missionary
needs mandate us to put together a pastoral master-plan to promote vocations to the
priesthood and religious life in order to ensure the Church of tomorrow.
We
are now at a turning point in our history: The God who has given us the faith in our
Eastern lands 2000 years ago, calls us today to persevere with courage, strength and
steadfastness in bearing the message of Christ and witnessing to his Gospel, the Gospel
of love and peace.
Challenges and Aspirations
3.1.
Today, we face many challenges. The first comes from within ourselves and our Churches.
We are asked by Christ to accept our faith and to apply it to all situations in our
lives. What he asks from our Churches is to strengthen the communion within every
Church sui iuris and that of the Catholic Churches of various traditions, and to exert
every effort in prayer and charitable acts in order to attain the full unity of all
Christians so as to fulfil the prayer of Christ: “that they may all be one; even as
you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world
may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21).
3.2.
The second challenge comes from the outside, namely, political conditions, security
in our countries and religious pluralism.
We have
evaluated the social situation and the public security in all our countries in the
Middle East. We have taken account of the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
on the whole region, especially on the Palestinians who are suffering the consequences
of the Israeli occupation: the lack of freedom of movement, the wall of separation
and the military checkpoints, the political prisoners, the demolition of homes, the
disturbance of socio-economic life and the thousands of refugees. We have reflected
on the suffering and insecurity in which Israelis live. We have meditated on the situation
of the holy city of Jerusalem. We are anxious about the unilateral initiatives that
threaten its composition and risk to change its demographic balance. With all this
in mind, we see that a just and lasting peace is the only salvation for everyone and
for the good of the region and its peoples.
3.3.
We have reflected in our meetings and in our prayers the keen sufferings of the Iraqi
people. We have recalled the Christians assassinated in Iraq, the continued suffering
of the Church in Iraq and her sons who have been displaced and dispersed throughout
the world, bringing with them the concerns for their land and their fatherland. The
synod fathers have expressed their solidarity with the people and the Churches in
Iraq and have expressed their desire that the emigrants, forced to leave their country,
might find in the welcoming countries the necessary support to be able to return to
their homeland and live in security.
3.4. We have
extensively treated relations between Christians and Muslims. All of us share a common
citizenship in our countries. Here we want to affirm, according to our Christian vision,
a fundamental principle which ought to govern our relations, namely, God wants us
to be Christians in and for our Middle Eastern societies. This is God’s plan for us.
This is our mission and vocation - to live as Christians and Muslims together. Our
actions in this area will be guided by the commandment of love and by the power of
the Spirit within us.
The second principle which
governs our relations is the fact that we are an integral part of our societies. Our
mission, based on our faith and our duty to our home countries, obliges us to contribute
to the construction of our countries as fellow-citizens, Muslims, Jews and Christians
alike. II. Communion and Witness Within the Catholic Churches
of the Middle East To the Faithful of Our Churches
4.1.
Jesus says to us: “You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world” (Mt 5:13.14).
Your mission in our societies, beloved faithful, through faith, hope and love, is
to be like “salt” which gives savour and meaning to life; to be like “light” by proclaiming
the truth which scatters the darkness; and to be like the “leaven” which transforms
hearts and minds. The first Christians of Jerusalem were few in number, yet they were
able to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth because of the grace of “the Lord
who acted with them and confirmed their Word by signs” (Mk 16:20).
4.2.
We want to greet you, Christians of the Middle East, and we thank you for all you
have achieved in your families and societies, in your Churches and nations. We commend
you for your perseverance in times of adversity, suffering and anguish.
4.3.
Dear priests, our co-workers in the mission of catechesis, liturgy and pastoral work,
we renew our friendship and our trust in you. Continue to transmit to your faithful
with zeal and perseverance the Gospel of life and Church’s tradition through your
preaching, catechesis, spiritual direction and the good example of your lives. Build
up the faith of the People of God to make of it a civilisation of love. Provide the
sacraments to the People of God so that this People might aspire to be renewed. Gather
them together in the union of love by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Dear
consecrated men and women in the world, we express to you our gratitude and with you
we thank God for the gift of the evangelical counsels – of consecrated chastity, of
poverty and obedience – through which you have made the gift of yourselves as you
follow Christ, the special love to whom you long to witness. It is thanks to your
diverse apostolic initiatives that you are the true treasure and wealth of our Churches
and a spiritual oasis in our parishes, dioceses and missions.
We
unite ourselves spiritually to hermits, to monks and nuns who have dedicated their
lives to prayer in contemplative monasteries, sanctifying the hours of day and night,
carrying the Church’s concerns and needs to God in their prayers. You offer the world
a sign of hope through the witness of your life.
4.4.
We express to you, faithful lay people, our esteem and our friendship. We appreciate
everything you do for your families and societies, your Churches and home countries.
Remain steadfast amidst trials and difficulties. We are filled with gratitude to the
Lord for the charisms and talents which he has showered you and which equip you to
participate, through the power of your baptism and chrismations, in the Church’s mission
and her apostolic work to permeate the temporal world with the spirit and values of
the Gospel. We invite you to give the witness of an authentic Christian life, of a
conscientious religious practice and of good morals. Have the courage objectively
to proclaim the truth.
Those of you who
suffer in body, in soul and spirit, the oppressed, those forced from your homes, the
persecuted, prisoners and detainees, we carry you all in our prayers. Unite your suffering
to that of Christ the Redeemer and seek in his cross patience and strength. By the
merit of your sufferings, you gain God’s merciful love.
We
greet each of our Christian families and we look upon your vocation and mission with
esteem as a living cell of society and a natural school of virtue and ethical and
human values, the “domestic Church” which transmits the practices of prayer and of
faith from one generation to the next. We thank parents and grandparents for the education
of their children and grandchil¬dren, who, like Jesus grow “in wisdom, in stature
and grace in the sight of God and men” (Lk 2:52). We commit ourselves to the defence
of the family through our pastoral programmes on its behalf, through marriage preparation
courses and centres, open to all but mainly to couples in difficulty, where they can
be welcomed and obtain counseling, and by defending the fundamental rights of the
family.
We now wish to speak to the women of our
Churches in a special way. We express to you our appreciation for what you are in
the various states of life: girls, mothers, educators, consecrated women and those
who engaged in public life. We revere you, because you harbour human life within you
from its very beginnings, giving it care and tenderness. God has given you a special
sensitivity for everything that pertains to education, humanitarian work and the apostolic
life. We give thanks to God for your activities and we hope that you will be able
to exercise greater responsibility in public life.
Young
women and men, we look to you with the same love which Christ had for the young man
in the Gospel (cf. Mk 10:21). You are the potential and renewing force for the future
of our Churches, our communities and our countries. Plan your life under the loving
gaze of Christ. Be responsible citizens and sincere believers. The Church joins you
in your desire to find work commensurate with your talents, work which will help to
stimulate your creativity, providing for your future and making possible the formation
of a family of believers. Overcome the temptation of materialism and consumerism.
Be strong in your Christian values.
We greet the
heads of Catholic institutions of education. Pursue excellence and the Christian spirit
in your teaching and education. Aim at the consolidation of a culture of harmonious
living and concern for the poor and disabled. In spite of the challenges which confront
your institutions, we invite you to maintain them, so as to further the Church’s educative
mission and to promote the development and common good of our societies.
We
address with great esteem those who work in the social sector. In your institutions
you are at the service of charity. We encourage and support you in this mission of
development, guided by the rich social teaching of the Church. Through your work,
you strengthen the bonds of fellowship between people and serve the poor, the marginalised,
the sick, refugees and prisoners without discrimination. You are guided by the words
of the Lord Jesus: “Everything you do to one of these little ones, you do it to me!”
(Mt 25:40).
We look with hope to prayer groups and
apostolic movements. They are schools where our faith can mature and we can be given
the strength to live that faith in family and society. We appreciate their activities
in parishes and dioceses and their support for pastors, in accordance with the Church’s
directives. We thank God for these groups and movements which are active cells in
the parish and seed-beds for vocations to both the priesthood and the consecrated
life. We appreciate the role of the means of social communication,
both printed and audio-visual. We thank you journalists for your collaboration with
the Church in broadcasting her teachings and activities and, over the course of these
days, for having given global news coverage to the Special Assembly for the Middle
East of the Synod.
We are pleased with the contribution
of the media, both international and Catholic. With regard to the Middle East, Télé
Lumiere-Noursat merits a special mention. We hope it will be able to continue its
service of providing information and forming the faith, of working on behalf of Christian
unity, of consolidating the Christian presence in the Middle East, of strengthening
interreligious dialogue and the communion of all peoples of Middle Eastern origin,
presently in every part of the globe.
To Our Faithful
in the Diaspora
5. Emigration has become a generalised
phenomenon by Christians, Muslims and Jews alike. All emigrate for reasons arising
from political and economic instability. However, Christians also emigrate from a
sense of insecurity, in varying degrees, in many Middle Eastern countries. May Christians
have trust in the future and continue to live in their dear countries.
We
send our greetings to you, members of our Churches in the various countries of the
Diaspora. We ask you to keep alive in your hearts and concerns the memory of your
countries and your Churches. You can contribute to their development and their growth
by your prayers, your thoughts, your visits and by various other means, despite the
fact that you are far from the Middle East.
Look
at your goods and your properties in your home country; do not abandon and sell them
too quickly. Keep them as your patrimony and as a piece of the homeland to which you
remain attached, a homeland which you love and support. The land is part of a person's
identity and his mission. It is a vital aspect of the lives of those who remain there
and for those who one day will return there. The land is a public good, a good of
the community and a common patrimony. It should not be reduced to a question of individual
interests on the part of those who own it and who alone decide, according to their
desires, to keep or abandon it.
We accompany you
with our prayers, you the children of our Churches and of our countries, forced to
emigrate. Bear with you your faith, your culture and your patrimony, so as to enrich
your new countries which provide you with peace, freedom and work. Look towards the
future with confidence and joy. Hold fast to your spiritual values, to your cultural
traditions and to your national patrimony, in order to offer to the countries which
welcome you the best of yourselves and the best of that which you have. We thank the
Churches of the countries of the Diaspora which have received our faithful and unceasingly
collaborate with us to ensure the necessary pastoral services for them.
To
the Migrants in Our Countries and Our Churches
6.
We send our greetings to all immigrants of varying nationalities, who have come to
our countries seeking employment.
We
welcome you, beloved faithful, and we see your faith as a source of enrichment and
a support for the faithful of our Churches. We joyously provide you with every spiritual
assistance you might need.
We ask our Churches to
pay special attention to these brothers and sisters and their difficulties, whatever
may be their religion, especially when their rights and dignity are subject to abuse.
They come to us not simply to seek the means for living but offer the services which
our countries need. Their dignity comes from God. Like every human person, they have
rights which must be respected. No one should violate those rights. That is why we
call upon the various governments which receive them to respect and defend their rights.
Communion
and Witness Together with the Orthodox and Protestant Communities in the Middle East
7.
We send our greetings to the Orthodox and Protestant Communities in our countries.
Together we work for the good of all Christians, that they may remain, grow and prosper.
We share the same journey. Our challenges are the same and our future is the same.
We wish to bear witness together as disciples of Christ. Only through our unity can
we accomplish the mission that God has entrusted to us, despite the differences among
our Churches. The prayer of Christ is our support; the commandment of love unites
us, even if the road towards full communion is still distant for us.
We
have walked together in the Middle East Council of Churches and we wish, with God’s
grace, to continue on this path and to promote its activity, having as an ultimate
goal a common testimony to our faith, the service of our faithful and of all our
countries. We acknowledge and encourage all initiatives for ecumenical dialogue in
each of our countries.
We express our gratitude to
the World Council of Churches and to the different ecumenical organisations which
work for the unity of the Churches and for their support.
IV.
Cooperation and Dialogue with Our Fellow-Citizens, the Jews
8.
The same Scriptures unite us; the Old Testament, the Word of God is for both you and
us. We believe all that God revealed there, since he called Abraham, our common father
in the faith, Father of Jews, of Christians and of Muslims. We believe in the promises
of God and his covenant given to Abraham and to you. We believe that the Word of God
is eternal.
The Second Vatican Council published
the document Nostra aetate which treats interreligious dialogue with Judaism, Islam
and the other religions. Other documents have subsequently clarified and developed
the relationship with Judaism. On-going dialogue is taking place between the Church
and the representatives of Judaism. We hope that this dialogue can bring us to work
together to press those in authority to put and end to the political conflict which
results in separating us and disrupting everyday life in our countries.
It is time for us to commit ourselves together to a sincere, just and permanent
peace. Both Christians and Jews are called to this task by the Word of God. In his
Word, we are invited us to listen to the voice of God “who speaks of peace”: “Let
me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his
holy ones” (Ps 85:9). Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the
Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable. On the contrary, recourse
to religion must lead every person to see the face of God in others and to treat
them according to their God-given prerogatives and God’s commandments, namely, according
to God's bountiful goodness, mercy, justice and love for us.
V.
Cooperation and Dialogue with Our Fellow-Citizens, the Muslims
9.
We are united by the faith in one God and by the commandment that says: do good and
avoid evil. The words of the Second Vatican Council on the relations with other religions
offer the basis for the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Muslims:
“The Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and
subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,
who has spoken to men” (Nostra aetate 3).
We say
to our Muslim fellow-citizens: we are brothers and sisters; God wishes us to be together,
united by one faith in God and by the dual commandment of love of God and neighbour.
Together we will construct our civil societies on the basis of citizenship, religious
freedom and freedom of conscience. Together we will work for the promotion of justice,
peace, the rights of persons and the values of life and of the family. The construction
of our countries is our common responsibility. We wish to offer to the East and to
the West a model of coexistence between different religions and of positive collaboration
between different civilisations for the good of our countries and that of all humanity.
Since
the appearance of Islam in the seventh century and to the present, we have lived together
and we have collaborated in the creation of our common civilisation. As in the past
and still existent today, some imbalances are present in our relations. Through dialogue
we must avoid all imbalances and misunderstandings. Pope Benedict XVI tells us that
our dialogue must not be a passing reality. It is rather a vital necessity on which
our future depends (Pope Benedict XVI, Meeting with Representatives from the Muslim
Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005). Our duty then is to educate believers concerning
interreligious dialogue, the acceptance of pluralism and mutual esteem.
VI.
Our Participation in Public Life: An Appeal to the Governments and to the Political
Leadership in Our Countries
10. We appreciate the
efforts which have been expended for the common good and the service to our societies.
You are in our prayers and we ask God to guide your steps. We address you regarding
the importance of equality among all citizens. Christians are original and authentic
citizens who are loyal to their fatherland and assume their duties towards their country.
It is natural that they should enjoy all the rights of citizenship, freedom of conscience,
freedom of worship and freedom in education, teaching and the use of the mass media.
We appeal to you to redouble your efforts to establish a just and lasting
peace throughout the region and to stop the arms race, which will lead to security
and economic prosperity and stop the hemorrhage of emigration which empties our countries
of its vital forces. Peace is a precious gift entrusted by God to human family, whose
members are to be “peacemakers who will be called children of God” (Mt 5:9).
VII.
Appeal to the International Community
11. The citizens
of the countries of the Middle East call upon the international community, particularly
the United Nations conscientiously to work to find a peaceful, just and definitive
solution in the region, through the application of the Security Council’s resolutions
and taking the necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different
Arab territories.
The Palestinian people will thus
have an independent and sovereign homeland where they can live with dignity and security.
The State of Israel will be able to enjoy peace and security within their internationally
recognized borders. The Holy City of Jerusalem will be able to acquire its proper
status, which respects its particular character, its holiness and the religious patrimony
of the three religions: Jewish, Christian and Muslim. We hope that the two-State-solution
might become a reality and not a dream only.
Iraq
will be able to put an end to the consequences of its deadly war and re-establish
a secure way of life which will protect all its citizens with all their social structures,
both religious and national. Lebanon will be able to enjoy sovereignty over
its entire territory, strengthen its national unity and carry on in its vocation to
be the model of coexistence between Christians and Muslims, of dialogue between different
cultures and religions, and of the promotion of basic public freedoms.
We
condemn violence and terrorism from wherever it may proceed as well as all religious
extremism. We condemn all forms of racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Christianism and Islamophobia
and we call upon the religions to assume their responsibility to promote dialogue
between cultures and civilisations in our region and in the entire world.
Conclusion:
Continue to Bear Witness to the Divine Path That Has Been Shown to Us in the Person
of Jesus
12. Brothers and sisters, in closing, we
say with the St. John the Apostle: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns
the Word of life for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible
to us what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have
fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus
Christ.”(1 Jn 1:1-3).
This Divine Life which has
appeared to the apostles over 2000 years ago in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ
and to which the Church has witnessed throughout the course of her history will always
remain the life of our Churches in the Middle East and the object of our witness,
sustained by the promise of the Lord:“Behold, I am with you always, until the end
of the time” (Mt 28:20). Together we proceed on our journey with hope,“and hope does
not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through
the holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Rm 5:5). We confess
that, until now, we have not done what is possible to better live communion in our
communities. We have not done enough to better live communion among our communities.
We have not done everything possible to confirm you in your faith and to give you
the spiritual nourishment you need in your difficulties. The Lord invites us to a
conversion as individuals and communities.
Today
we return to you full of hope, strength and resolution, bearing with us the message
of the Synod and its recommendations in order to study them together and to put them
into practice in our Churches, each one according to the Church’s states of life.
We hope also that this new effort might be ecumenical.
We
make a humble and sincere appeal to you, that together we might embark on the road
of conversion, allowing ourselves to be renewed through the grace of the Holy Spirit
and again draw close to God.
To the Most Holy Virgin
Mary, Mother of the Church and Queen of Peace, under whose protection we have accomplished
our Synodal task, we entrust our journey towards new, Christian horizons in the faith
of Christ and through the power of his word: “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev
21:5).