9 November 2018 | Greeting

GREETING OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO HIS HOLINESS MAR GEWARGIS III, CATHOLICOS PATRIARCH OF THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST

[…] 3. On our pilgrimage towards visible unity, we experience a common suffering,
arising from the dramatic situation of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle
East, especially in Iraq and Syria. The significance of the Christian presence and
mission in the Middle East was once more clearly highlighted at the Day of Prayer
and Reflection held in Bari on 7 July 2018, when the Heads of Churches and Christian
communities of the Middle East gathered to pray and speak with one another. The
Good News of Jesus, crucified and risen out of love, came from the Middle East and
has won over human hearts down the centuries, due not to worldly power but the
unarmed power of the Cross. Yet for decades now, the Middle East has been an
epicentre of violence where entire populations endure grievous trials every day.
Hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children suffer immensely from
violent conflicts that nothing can justify. Wars and persecutions have increased the
exodus of Christians from lands where they have lived side by side with other religious
communities since the time of the Apostles. Without distinction of rite or confession,
they suffer for professing the name of Christ. In them, we see the Body of Christ
which, today too, is afflicted, beaten and reviled. We are profoundly united in our
prayer of intercession and in our charitable outreach to these suffering members of
Christ’s body. […]