On his way to Beirut, Pope Benedict XVI admitted: “The aim of my visit is an invitation to dialogue, to peace and against violence, to go forward together to find solutions to the problems.”
The post-synodal apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente tried to address precisely this purpose. Can the Church bear witness to Jesus Christ amid the difficult situations of this troubled region? Is the Church in the Middle East brave enough to work for her own unity while opening up to dialogue with Jews and Muslims?
In his speech at the signing of the apostolic exhortation, the Holy Father said that this document offers the possibility of rediscovering the backbone of appertaining to Christ. Being Christ’s follower is hard. In his interview on the flight to Lebanon, the Pope said that “being a follower of Christ” means embracing his message “even in difficult and sometimes painful situations which may lead to the temptation to ignore or to forget the exaltation of the cross”.
Nevertheless, the latter is the enduring solution because it is a celebration of “the victory of love over hate, forgiveness over revenge, service over domination, humility over pride, and unity over division”.
Ecclesia in Medio Oriente is a thorough reflection regarding the joys and struggles, fears and hopes of Christians in this troubled region.
The universal Church is urged to hear and offer her solidarity to Middle Eastern brothers and sisters who are somewhat prevented from living their baptismal vocation in their countries. The Church is to praise God for the courage, faith and continual effort shown by them in their courageous attempt to build ecclesial and fraternal communion among themselves and a peaceful conviviality with Jews and Muslims.
Christ is the criteria for the Church’s trustworthy hope for a flourishing future. The Pope said that in the folly of Christ’s saving cross “our sufferings (become) a declaration of love for God and mercy for our neighbour”. The folly of the cross has the power of “transforming those who suffer because of their faith and identity into vessels of clay ready to be filled to overflowing by divine gifts more precious than gold (cf. 2 Cor 4:7-18)”. Ecclesia in Medio Oriente is an urgent calling for the Church to return to her beginnings to retrieve its spiritual vitality in her daily witness to Jesus Christ.
The post-synodal document highly promotes interreligious dialogue and ecumenism as relevant ways of fostering “powerful contribution to peace in the region and to respectful coexistence on the part of its peoples” (§ 19). Since “the Church’s universal nature and vocation require that she engages in dialogue with the members of other religions”, a dialogue which is chiefly dictated by “underlying theological concerns which have to do with faith”, it is essential that such dialogue aims at “the unity and harmony of the human family” (§19). The exhortation’s heartfelt appeal must be heeded: “May Jews, Christians and Muslims find in other believers brothers and sisters to be respected and loved, and in this way, beginning in their own lands, give the beautiful witness of serenity and concord between the children of Abraham” (§ 19).
Finally, the Exhortation is meant to spread “the light of Christ (cf.Jn 12:46)… to the farthest ends of the earth and to the hearts of all men and women, even where the darkness is deepest (cf. 1 Pet 2:9)” (§ 98). Whilst purifying the faith from what disfigures it, Ecclesia in Medio Oriente portrays communion as the true following of Christ and authentic witness in the light of the exaltation and glorification of the Cross.
■ Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap