Issued by the Catholic Center for Studies and Media - Jordan. Editor-in-chief Fr. Rif'at Bader - موقع أبونا abouna.org

Published on Wednesday, 14 February 2018
Pope, Melkite Patriarch say Mass for 'persecuted Christians of the Middle East'
By Devin Watkins/vaticannews.va and John L. Allen/ cruxnow.com :

At Mass on Tuesday, February 13, in the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis concelebrates with the Melkite Greek Patriarch of Antioch, calling it a sign of the Apostolic Communion between the Latin- and Eastern-rite Churches within the universal Church.

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Pope Francis concelebrated Mass on Tuesday, February 13, with the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Youssef Absi.

Instead of delivering a homily, Pope Francis said a few words about the meaning of the day’s celebration, at which members of the Melkite Greek Synod participated.

“This Mass with our brother, Patriarch Youssef,” the Pope said, “confirms our Apostolic Communion: He is the father of a very ancient Church, and he comes to embrace Peter and to say ‘I am in communion with Peter.’” The Holy Father said this was the meaning of the Eucharistic celebration.

‘Suffering Church’

He said the Melkite Greek Church is “a rich Church with its own theology within Catholic theology and with its own marvelous liturgy”.

The Pope said “at this moment a large part of the [Melkite] people is crucified, like Jesus.”

He said the Mass was being celebrated for the people of the Melkite Greek Church, “for the people who suffer, and for persecuted Christians in the Middle East, who give up their lives, goods, and property because they are driven out.” Pope Francis said he also offered the Mass for the ministry of “our brother Youssef”.

In a fashion typical of the eastern churches, Absi thanked Francis in the name of the “synod” of his church, meaning its governing body, typically made up of the bishops of each church.

Absi emphasized the importance of saying Mass with the Pope for his church.
“Personally, I’m very moved by your fraternal charity, the gestures of fraternity and solidarity which you’ve demonstrated for our church in the course of this Mass,” Absi said.

“We promise to always keep you in our hearts, in the heart of all our clergy and faithful, and will always remember this event, these historical moments, this moment the beauty of which I can’t describe: This fraternity, this communion that links all the disciples of Christ,” he said.

Syria’s Christian population has been especially hard hit by the country’s ongoing conflict, and their suffering at the hands of the Islamic State has been recognized by both the European Union and the United States. Since 2011, the country’s Christian population has shrunk from 30 per cent to an estimated 10 percent of the population as many Christians were driven from their homes or forced to convert to Islam.