Pope: from the Holy Land to Karabakh, ‘Martyr Churches’ are stronger than war

This morning, the pontiff received the members of ROACO in Rome for their plenary assembly. The pontiff spoke about the various areas torn by violence in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He also referred to the demographic decline of Christians and expressed concern for the pastoral care for diasporic communities. War is a “senseless and inconclusive venture,” he bemoaned. “There is urgent need for a ceasefire,” he said, since in war, “no one emerges a winner.”

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis addressed members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), who were in Rome for the organisation’s 97th Plenary Assembly on 24-27 June.

In his address, the pontiff said that Eastern Churches “must be cherished” because they preserve “unique spiritual and sapiential traditions” and have much to say “about the Christian life, synodality and the liturgy” as taught by the Ancient Fathers, the Councils, and monastic traditions.

Sadly, their beauty is “marred” for they are “bearing a heavy cross and have become ‘martyr Churches’,” especially in the Holy Land where the situation is tragic, with Israel at war with Hamas in Gaza.

This is where “everything began,” where “the Apostles received the mandate to go out to the whole world and preach the Gospel;” for this reason, “The faithful throughout the world are presently called to demonstrate their closeness” to the victims of this conflict.

In his reflection, the pope spoke to Christians around the world, urging them to “encourage” fellow Christians in the Holy Land and the Middle East “to rise above the temptation to abandon their lands, torn apart by conflicts.”

For the Holy Father, the demographic decline of Christians in the region where their religion was born has created an “awful situation”. As a result, “The sufferings caused by war are all the more jarring and absurd when they occur in the very places where the Gospel of peace was proclaimed!”

In an appeal to those who “fuel” conflicts while reaping “profits,” he said: “Stop! Stop [. . .] There is urgent need for a ceasefire, for meetings and dialogue to permit the coexistence of different peoples. This is the only possible path to a stable future. With war, a senseless and inconclusive venture, [. . .] everyone ends up defeated”.

After greeting Card Claudio Gugerotti, the superiors of the Dicastery, and the members of the agencies that make up the assembly, Francis spoke about other areas of tensions and conflict, like Syria, Lebanon, the “entire” Middle East in fact, and the Caucasus, Tigray, and Ukraine.

“It is in these very places, where great numbers of Eastern Catholics are found, that the brutality of war is felt most fiercely,” he lamented. Speaking about the Ukraine, he said: “I pray daily, and keep inviting others to pray” for this war-torn land.

“Brothers and sisters, we cannot remain indifferent. The Apostle Paul made clear the instruction he received from the other Apostles to be mindful of the neediest members of the Christian community, and called for solidarity with them”.

“This is God’s own message, and you, the members of ROACO, are the hands that give it flesh, hands that aid and lift up those who suffer” and help alleviate the sufferings of “our brothers and sisters in the East”.

With respect to the aid agencies, Francis urged them “to persevere in your support for the Eastern Catholic Churches,” calling on “the clergy and religious to be ever attentive”, grateful to them for “responding to destruction by reconstruction; to the deprivation of dignity by restoring hope; to the tears of children with a smile that speaks of love; to the malign logic of power with the Christian logic of service.”

“The seeds you plant in fields poisoned by hatred and war will surely blossom. They will be a prophecy of a different world, one that does not believe that might makes right, but in the non-violent power of peace.”

The pope addressed the issue of displaced people and the humanitarian situation in the Karabakh region, thanking Bishop Gevork Saroyan, of the Armenian Apostolic Church, for his presence.

“Today, many Eastern Christians, perhaps more than ever before, are fleeing conflicts or migrating in search of work and better living conditions. Many, therefore, are living in the diaspora,” Francis noted.

This touches another major issue the Church faces today, namely the “pastoral care of those residing outside their traditional territory [. . .] due to the massive migrations of recent decades”. As a result of a shortage of priests and places of worship, they risk losing their “religious identity”.

“I am grateful to the Latin dioceses that welcome Eastern Christians and that respect their traditions. I urge them to show particular concern, so that these, our brothers and sisters, may keep their rites alive and flourishing.”

Similarly, “I encourage the Dicastery to work to this end, also by establishing principles and norms that can help Latin bishops to aid the Eastern Catholics living in the diaspora.”