Pope: ‘Stop spiral of war now! War is always a defeat’

By Lisa Zengarini

During his meeting Thursday with the Meeting of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), Pope Francis reiterated his sincere appeal for peace in the world, and particularly in the Middle East and Ukraine.

“To those who fuel the spiral of conflict and profit from it, I say once again: Stop! Stop, because violence will never bring peace,” the Pope pleaded while addressing participants in the 97th plenary assembly of the humanitarian branch of the Holy See for the Oriental Churches, which ended Thursday.

Focus on the Middle East and Ukraine

The four-day meeting, held at the General Curia of the Society of Jesus in Rome, focused on the dramatic situation in the Holy Land, as well as in Ukraine and Ethiopia. Participants also discussed the pastoral care of the many Eastern Catholics living outside their territories.

Martyred Churches

In his speech, Pope Francis lamented that many Eastern Churches have become “martyr Churches.”

“Just as the flesh of the Lord was pierced by nails and a spear, many Eastern communities suffer and bleed because of the conflicts and violence they experience,” he said.

The Pope mentioned the Holy Land and Ukraine, but also Syria, Lebanon, the entire Middle East, the Caucasus and Tigray in Ethiopia. “It is precisely in these places, where there are many Eastern Catholics, that the brutality of the war is felt most acutely. »

He then renewed his call for solidarity. “We cannot remain indifferent,” said the Pope.

He encouraged ROACO members “to persevere” in their support of the Eastern Catholic Churches, “helping them, in these dramatic times, to remain firmly rooted in the Gospel.”

The Pope further urged the clergy and religious of the Eastern Churches to be always “attentive” to the cries of their faithful, “exemplary” in the faith, “placing the Gospel before any form of dissension or personal interest, and united in the service of the common good.”

Pope Francis warmly thanked the representatives of the various ROACO agencies “for having responded to the malignant logic of power with the Christian logic of service.”

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

Call for a ceasefire in the Holy Land

Referring specifically to the dramatic situation in the Holy Land, Pope Francis reiterated his call to the faithful around the world to demonstrate their closeness to Christians in the Middle East, encouraging them to “overcome the temptation to abandon their lands torn apart by conflict.”

He stressed the urgency of a ceasefire in the Holy Land and of dialogue, in order to allow the peaceful coexistence of the different peoples of these lands.

“This is the only possible path to a stable future,” he said. “With war, a senseless and hopeless enterprise, no one emerges victorious; everyone ends up defeated, because war, from the very beginning, is already a defeat, always.”

Let us pray for peace in Ukraine and the release of prisoners

Pope Francis then turned his thoughts to war-torn Ukraine.

He again called for prayers that “paths of peace may open for this beloved people, that prisoners of war may be freed and children repatriated.”

He also conveyed his “fraternal greetings” to His Holiness Karekin II and the dear Armenian people facing the conflict.

Supporting Eastern Christians living in the diaspora

Concluding his speech, Pope Francis referred to the many Christians in the East who are fleeing conflicts or migrating in search of work and better living conditions.

He recalled the risk that these diaspora communities “lose their religious identity” and that the precious “spiritual heritage” of the East is “weakened”.

While expressing his gratitude to the Latin dioceses that welcome Eastern Christians, he urged them to show them “special concern” so that they can keep the Eastern rites alive and flourishing.

He concluded by encouraging the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches to work in this direction, “establishing principles and norms that can help the Latin bishops to support Eastern Catholics living in the diaspora.”