Following is the text of the address Director of the Catholic Center for Studies and Media in Jordan Fr. Rif'at Bader made on November 9 at the opening of the two-day conference, which was patronized by Upper House of Parliament Faisal Al Fayez, titled, "Migration of Religious and Ethnic Components within the Region and Beyond":
His Excellency Mr. Faisal Al Fayez,
patron of the conference,
Your Excellencies,
Lombardi says a decisive, supportive response is needed in order to counter the spread of murderous hatred. The Vatican Secretary of State has sent a telegram to the Archbishop of Paris, assuring him that the Pope is praying for the victims of the attcks and condemns these acts of violence. Francis was supposed to meet Hassan Rohani today but the Iranian president cancelled his trips to Italy and France. Now there is an even greater need for the Jubilee, the Vatican spokesman says.
Kenyans, particularly young people and those for whom the Gospel is an integral part of their everyday life, are excited by Francis’ words and gestures. Bishops have appealed against corruption and one missionary hopes the Pope will motivate people to be among the poor.
In late October 1965, the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council issued an extremely important document named Nostra Aetate, meaning “In our Age”, which tackles the relationships with religions or their followers. The document dedicated some paragraphs to Muslims which reflected the respect and appreciation the Church harbours to the followers of the Islamic religion.
War in Iraq and Syria have taken a heavy toll on the Chaldean Christians of the Middle East. Now Chaldean bishops like Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq are asking what they can do to help Christian refugees survive and preserve their faith in times of trouble.
Although the Pope was saddened by the disloyalty and betrayal of the two collaborators whom he had trusted, he is not concerned about the fact that the content of the documents was made public: after all, it was the Holy See that had called for the investigation. Rents from Vatican properties help the missions but reforms need to be made to the way they are managed.
In his message to Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Pope said: “We are not indifferent to our suffering brothers and sisters” who are “witness[es] to Christ, even to the shedding of blood”.
During the mass for deceased cardinals and bishops, Francis said: “those who do not live to serve have no reason to be alive”; may we “be free from the anxieties of the ephemeral, which pass and vanish”.
Following the conclusion of the Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, the Synod Fathers issued a statement in which they stated their wish to focus their attention towards the families of the Middle East. The statement reads that the region has been going through bloody disputes for years, where families living there suffer from grave problems that have been aggravated over the past months and weeks.
According to the President of CELAM, we need to work toward an ecological conversion on all levels, starting with those who are at the forefront of development.
