BENEDICT INAUGURATES SYNOD WITH FOCUS ON COMMUNION, DIALOGUE AND HOPE - HOLY FATHER ENTRUSTS SYNODAL WORK TO MARY - POPE OPENS SYNOD MEETINGS, CONDEMNS VIOLENCE CARRIED OUT IN GOD’S NAME

Monday, October 11, 2010

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BENEDICT INAUGURATES SYNOD WITH FOCUS ON COMMUNION, DIALOGUE AND HOPE I went to Mass yesterday morning in St. Peter’s Basilica where a beautiful liturgy that celebrated the richness of the Catholic Church’s rites and languages opened the special synod for the Middle East. I was fairly close to the papal altar and in the midst of a large group of Americans, including quite a number from St. Thomas University in Houston, Texas who came with their president, retired Major General Bob Ivany, and his family. Because of my many trips to the Middle East during the past two years, and the many friends I have made in the Holy Land, Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq, in particular, I am extremely interested in the works and hopeful results of this synodal gathering. I’ll post some detailed statistics in coming days about the 16 countries that comprise the region known as the Middle East but for now will concentrate on the Pope’s homily at yesterday’s Eucharistic concelebration and his words at the Angelus when a truly huge crowd packed a sun-splashed St. Peter’s Square under a warm and very blue October sky. The faithful started to gather at 8 a.m., seated behind or near a number of cardinals and under the watchful eyes of Swiss Guards and Vatican gendarmes.  Under Michelangelo’s dome….  At the papal altar, beneath the Bernini baldachin….  …. Pope Benedict concelebrated Mass with 177 Synod Fathers, including the patriarchs of Antioch of the Maronites, Babylon of the Chaldeans, Antioch of the Syrians, Alexandria of the Copts and Cyprus of the Maronites. Some of the Synod Fathers as they took their seats:  At the start of his homily, Pope Benedict said, "The Eucharistic celebration, the highest rendering of thanks to God, is marked for us today, gathered around the tomb of St. Peter, by an extraordinary event: the grace of seeing gathered together for the first time at a Synod, around the Bishop of Rome and the Universal Pastor, the bishops of the Middle Eastern region. Such a singular event demonstrates the interest of the whole Church for that precious and beloved part of God's people who live in the Holy Land and the whole of the Middle East." Pope Benedict incenses the altar.  "In those lands,” he said, “the one Church of Christ is expressed in the variety of liturgical, spiritual, cultural and teaching traditions of the six venerable "sui iuris" Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as in the Latin tradition. This fraternal greeting which I address with great affection to the patriarchs of each of these Churches is, at the same time, extended to all the faithful entrusted to their pastoral care, in their respective countries as well as in the diaspora." The Pope explained that, "God is love and wants all men to be part of His life.” God binds to men through a covenant” and “He reveals Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Who wants to lead His people to the 'land' of freedom and peace. This 'land' is not of this world; the whole of the divine plan goes beyond history, but the Lord wants to build it with men, for men and in men, beginning in the co-ordinates of space and time in which they live and which He Himself gave them. Here are the Synod Fathers under the protection of St. Longinus (whose spear, preserved in the basilica in a relic chapel, pierced the side of Christ) and, on the right, the bronze statue of St. Peter, whose successor is presiding the synod Mass.  Benedict stated, "In its own specific way, what we call the 'Middle East' is part of those co-ordinates. … God also sees this region of the world from a different perspective, one might say, 'from on high': it is the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the land of the Exodus and the return from exile; the land of the Temple and of the Prophets, the land in which the Only Begotten Son of Mary was born, lived, died and rose from the dead; the cradle of the Church, established in order to carry Christ's Gospel to the ends of the earth. And we too, as believers, look to the Middle East in this way, from the perspective of the history of salvation." “In Jerusalem,” he pointed out, “the first Christians were few. Nobody could have imagined what was going to take place. And the Church continues to live on that same strength which enabled it to begin and to grow. Pentecost is the original event but also a permanent dynamism, and the Synod of Bishops is a privileged moment in which the grace of Pentecost may be renewed in the Church's journey, so that the Good News may be announced openly and heard by all peoples." The Pope blesses the Book of Gospels.  "The reason for this synod is mainly pastoral,” he emphasized. “While not being able to ignore the delicate and at times dramatic social and political situation of some countries, the pastors of the Middle Eastern Churches wish to concentrate on the aspects of their own mission. ... Ecclesial life, corroborated in this way, will see the development of very positive fruits in the ecumenical path with other Churches and ecclesial communities present in the Middle East.” The Pope said, "This occasion is also propitious for a constructive continuation of dialogue with Jews, to whom we are tied by the indissoluble bond of the long history of the Covenant, as we are with Muslims. Moreover, the workings of the synodal assembly are oriented to the witness of Christians on a personal, family and social level. This requires the reinforcing of their Christian identity through the Word of God and the Sacraments. We all hope that the faithful feel the joy in living in the Holy Land, a land blessed by the presence and by the Paschal Mystery of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Presentation of Gifts:  "Over the centuries those places have attracted multitudes of pilgrims, as well as men and women in religious communities who have considered it a great privilege to be able to live and bear witness in the land of Jesus. Despite the difficulties, Christians in the Holy Land are called to enliven their consciousness of being the living stones of the Church in the Middle East, in the holy places of our salvation. Concelebrants:  "However,” underscored Pope Benedict, “living in a dignified manner in one's own country is above all a fundamental human right: therefore, the conditions of peace and justice, which are necessary for the harmonious development of all those living in the region, should be promoted. Thus, everyone is called to make their personal contribution: the international community, by supporting a stable and constructive path towards peace; the main religions in the region, by promoting the spiritual and cultural values that unite men and exclude any expression of violence. Go, the Mass is ended… final papal blessing.  HOLY FATHER ENTRUSTS SYNODAL WORK TO MARY At noon Sunday, following the concelebrated Mass to inaugurate the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his private study to pray the Angelus with the tens of thousands of faithful gathered below in St. Peter's Square. The Pope said that, in the Middle East, "the one Church of Christ expresses herself in all the richness of her ancient traditions." In the countries of that region, "unfortunately marked by profound divisions and lacerated by years of conflicts,” he added, “the Church is called to be a sign and instrument of unity and reconciliation. … This is an arduous task, because the Christians of the Middle East often find themselves having to support difficult living conditions at a personal, family and community level. But this must not be a discouragement; it is precisely in such a context that the perennial message of Christ to 'believe in the Good News' becomes more necessary and urgent."  The Holy Father also noted that October is dedicated to the Rosary and he entrusted the work of the Synod to the Virgin Mary, who is "so loved and venerated by our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and who, ... as the Star of Hope, is close to all forms of suffering. To her intercession," he concluded, "we entrust the synodal assembly, ... that the Christians of the region may be strengthened in communion and bear witness to the Gospel of love and peace."  According to the latest edition of the pontifical statistical yearbook, in the 16 countries that comprise the Middle East, there are 356 million people, of whom 5.7 million or 1.60 percent, are Catholics. There are 101 ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the Middle East. Christians in the region are estimated to be about 20 million or 5.6 percent of the people. POPE OPENS SYNOD MEETINGS, CONDEMNS VIOLENCE CARRIED OUT IN GOD’S NAME At the opening congregation Monday morning of the synod for the Middle East, Pope Benedict XVI condemned violence carried out "in God's name," noting that, "It is supposedly in God's name that this violence is committed but this is not God, these are false gods that must be unmasked." He also warned of the spread of "terrorist ideology" in modern societies. The synod was requested by the patriarchs and bishops of the Middle East and announced by the Holy Father on September 19, 2009 in order to discuss pastoral issues linked to the dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East. It also aims to foster communion among the different ‘sui iuris’ Churches and to help promote dialogue and peace throughout the Middle East region. The synod opened Sunday with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and will end on October 24. Arabic is one of the official languages at the synod, which brings together Catholic prelates, a Sunni and a Shiite Muslim and a rabbi. At Mass Sunday, Benedict called on Christianity, Islam and Judaism to "promote spiritual and cultural values that unite people and exclude any form of violence" in the Middle East. At the congregation Monday morning, Pope Benedict also recalled how on that same day October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII officially opened Vatican Council II. Some here in Rome, including Fr. PierBattista Pizzaballa, Franciscan custos of the Holy Land, have called the current synod “a council for the Middle East.” Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and president delegate on duty, spoke Monday morning as did Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops His Beatitude Antonios Naguib, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, Egypt, relator general of the synod read the "Relatio ante disceptationem," or report before the discussion. Write to Joan at: joansrome@ewtn.com