Pope Benedict XVI: closeness to suffering in Middle East

Pope Benedict XVI addressed the participants in the current session of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO) Friday morning here at the Vatican. Founded in 1968 by the Congregation for Eastern Churches, R.O.A.C.O. is a committee that brings together funding agencies from various countries around the world for the sake of providing assistance of several different kinds and in many different areas: from worship buildings to scholarships, from houses of study and formation to social and health care facilities.

Main focal points of this week’s session – the 84^th since the founding of ROACO, were the challenges facing the Christian faithful and the regional role and future of Christianity in light of the series of popular uprisings that continue to sweep across the whole Mideast-North African region – a phenomenon that early on began to be referred to by actors and observers alike as the “Arab Spring”.

I thank you for your reflections on the changes that are taking place in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East, which are a source of anxiety throughout the world. Through the communications received at this time from the Coptic-Catholic Cardinal-Patriarch and from the Maronite Patriarch, as well as the Pontifical Representative in Jerusalem and the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land, the Congregation and the agencies will be able to assess the situation on the ground for the Church and the peoples of that region, which is so important for world peace and stability.

The Pope went on to express his closeness to those who are suffering and to those who are trying to escape.

I pray that the necessary emergency assistance will be forthcoming, but above all I pray that every possible form of mediation will be explored, so that violence may cease and social harmony and peaceful coexistence may everywhere be restored, with respect for the rights of individuals as well as communities. Fervent prayer and reflection will help us at the same time to read the signs emerging from the present season of toil and tears: may the Lord of history always turn them to the common good.

The 4-day meeting of the ROACO opened Tuesday, June 21^{st

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