Pope, Messenger of Peace: Bishops of the Middle East

February 16, 2013: "It will be hard to forget your true faith, the thinking with the Church, the sense of duty that is done in faithfulness and commitment, the example of intellectual honesty, the great simplicity and deep humility" wrote the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI.
Ensuring the closeness and support of the prayer, the bishops recalled with gratitude the two visits by the Pope, in May of 2009 and June of 2010, to the countries of the Holy Land, during which the Pope invited the believers of the monotheistic religions " to live in love for each other, and in harmony with each other."

In this sense, the bishops become the mouthpiece of gratitude for all believers - Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze - in the region plagued by hostility. Feelings of special gratitude were expressed in a statement released by the Conference of Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions. "With humility - wrote the bishops speaking directly to the Pope - you put the Petrine ministry for the deep love for the Church, giving us the example of a humble servant who knows how to deliver the beloved vineyard to a more vigorous grower."
The bishops reiterated, then, their "gratitude for the post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia in the Middle East," the fruit of the Synod of Bishops in 2010 and "the interest" shown by the Pope "to our countries with ceaseless demands for peace and to stop the fighting between brothers, in order to find solutions for a just and lasting reconciliation."

In a "positive shock" for the Church and for the world, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Raï, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, spoke in his message: "This announcement that shocked the world, has led to a positive shock in the hearts and is a model of behavior."
Indeed, "it is a great act of faith, courage and sincerity. This decision is a lesson for all, it testifies that faith is a great act of love for Christ and his Church, an act of total surrender to the will of God, and a deep sign of self-denial and humility." In particular, it is a "great testimony to all those who have positions of responsibility in the Church and in society, in the state. This responsibility should in fact be exercised in full consciousness, and we must continually return to it, to hear the voice of God who questions the hearts and consciences, ensuring a functioning of the mission at the service of the common good, which is good for each and all. "
Pope Benedict XVI is a universal model of humility, said the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, The Raphael Louis Sako. "The Pope - he said - has shown his greatness in the world, the wonder of his soul. He made a choice that the whole story recall, from us men of the clergy and the Church. The Pontiff recalled once more that the seat is made to serve, not to be served."