Patriarch applauds faith conference called by King of Jordan
(Vatican Radio) Today was the second and last day of the religious summit held in
the Jordanian capital Amman to discuss the difficulties faced by Christian communities
in the Middle East.
The faith conference was convened by King Abdullah II,
after his visit to Pope Francis last week, and was organised by his Chief Advisor
for Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad.
Patriarch Fouad
Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke to Vatican Radio's Xavier Sartre about the
hopes and fears of Christian communities in the Middle East, appealing for solidarity
and prayer.
Listen to Patriarch Twal:
"We
have many challenges, we have many problems. We are really afraid, afraid for the
present and for the future. [...] A result of this fear is the emigration of many
Christians from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan.
We have to ask ourselves what
we can do to avoid more refugees, to avoid the war, to avoid the violence, and to
give more hope to our Christians. The fact that we are together is a richness in itself,
and it can give hope to our faithful that we are doing something, we are doing our
best to give more hope to our Christians that they can remain in their land, in their
home, and not leave their homeland and their country.
We rely on collaboration
and solidarity, and especially prayers. We still believe in the power of prayer. [...]
In anticipation we are very grateful for any solidarity, any prayer. We need peace
- and when I say peace, it is peace for all the inhabitants of this region, whether
Jews, Muslims or Christians."