Pope appeals for peace in Holy Land, Middle East

December 09, 2013 - During his Mass Monday morning, Pope Francis appealed for an end to division and hatred in the Holy Land and in the Middle East. Concelebrating Mass with the Pope in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, was Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak of Alexandria, based in Cairo, Egypt. Speaking about his closeness to Egypt’s Christians who are experiencing insecurity and violence, the Pope in his homily renewed his appeal for religious liberty throughout the whole of the Middle East. Referring to the first reading from the Prophet Isaiah the Holy Father said that the encouragement to the ‘the faint of heart’ is meant for the many in Egypt who are experiencing insecurity and violence, sometimes because of their Christian faith. ‘Be strong, do not fear!’ are the consoling words that find their confirmation in fraternal solidarity, the Pope said expressing gratitude to God for the occasion to reinforce hope. Reflecting on the Gospel reading about Jesus healing the paralytic, Pope Francis deplored the contagion of the paralysis of conscience. “With the complicity of the poverties of history and of our sin,” he said, “it can expand and enter into social structures and into communities to block entire peoples.” But, he said, “the command of Christ: ‘Arise, walk!’ can reverse the situation.” He urged those present to pray with confidence that the Holy Land and all the Middle East peace might be able to rise from the often recurring and sometimes dramatic breaks in the peace process. He prayed that hatred and divisions end forever, and that peace agreements, often paralyzed by conflicting and obscure interests, be resumed quickly. He also urged that religious liberty be guaranteed to all, and that the rights of Christians be respected to live peacefully in the places where they were born, in the native country they love as citizens of more than two thousand years, in order that they might contribute as always to the good of all. Pope Francis also recalled the generosity of Egypt that offered hospitality to Holy Family, fleeing the wrath of Herod. In turn, the Pope prayed that the Lord “watch over the Egyptians, that along the paths of the world they might seek dignity and security”:
For his part, Patriarch Sidrak emphasized that at this delicate moment in history, the Church in Egypt needs the “paternal support” of the Successor of Peter. He too prayed that “the light of the Holy Nativity might be the star that reveals the path of love, of unity, of reconciliation, and of peace, gifts of which my Land has such great need.”