Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “ Today’s meeting rekindles the joy of my recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land... I renew my prayer and my appeal for no more war, no more violence, no more injustice. I wish to assure you that the universal Church remains at the side of all our brothers and sisters who reside in the Holy Land.”. With these words the Holy Father Benedict XVI re-launched his appeal for peace in the Holy Land during an audience with participants at participants in the Assembly of Organizations for Aid to the Eastern Churches" (R.O.A.C.O.), received on 25 June
The Holy Father went on to recall the imminent closing of the Year of St Paul and the Apostle's teaching on charity: “With the now imminent feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the Year dedicated to the Apostle of the nations, for the two thousandth anniversary of his birth is coming to a close. Captured by Christ and by the Holy Spirit, he was a privileged witness of the mystery of God's love revealed in Christ Jesus. His inspired word and his witness confirmed by the supreme gift of martyrdom, were an incomparable eulogy to Christian charity and are still highly relevant today… From the lips of Paul of Tarsus, the Word of God tells us unequivocally what is the ‘greatest thing' for the disciple of Christ: charity! It is the fecund source of every service of the Church, her measure, her method and her verification”. The members of Roaco wish “to live this charity”, the Pope said offering their availability to the Bishop of Rome through the Congregation for Oriental Churches (the Congregation for Eastern Catholic Churches).
Expressing deep appreciation for the activity of Roaco “in the present thorny world situation ”, Benedict XVI urged those present to “make an even greater effort” with these words: “with a spirit of faith, to accurate analysis and necessary realism it is possible to correct some useless decisions and effectively deal with present day situations of need. I think of the situation of refugees and migrants, which heavily affects the Eastern Churches and the re-building of the Gaza Strip, still abandoned, where the legitimate concerns of Israel for its security must be taken into consideration. In the face of totally new challenges the loving service of the Church remains the channel of effective salvation and the safest investment for the present and the future”.
At the end of his discourse the Pontiff recommended, at the beginning of the Year of the Priesthood, “give maximum attention to care for priests and support for seminaries ”, and he added: “When I opened this singular jubilee year last Friday on the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I entrusted to the Heart of Christ and the heart of the Immaculate Mother all the priests of the world, with a special thought for those in the East and in the West living times of difficulty and trial. I take this opportunity to ask you to pray for priests ”. Benedict XVI concluded asking those present to sustain him, so that, as the Successor of St Peter, “ I may fulfil my mission at the service of the universal Church ”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 26/6/2009; righe 36, parole 507)
