Encourages Egyptian Faithful to Be Strong in the Face of Persecution
Vatican City,
(Zenit.org)
Peace in the Middle East is often paralyzed by opposed and obscured
interests, Pope Francis said this Monday morning during Mass at Casa
Santa Marta.
The Holy Father was concelebrating the Mass with Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak of Alexandria of the Catholic Copts.
According to the Holy See, the Mass with the Patriarch was a “public
demonstration of the ecclesiastical communion sought by the Patriarch
and conceded by Pope [Emeritus] Benedict XVI.”
Commenting on the prophet Isaiah, the Pope encouraged those with
“fearful hearts” in the land of Egypt, especially those who suffer
violence for their faith.
“Be strong; do not fear!”, the Pope exclaimed. “These are the words
of consolation that find confirmation in fraternal solidarity. I am
grateful to God for this encounter, which gives me a way of reinforcing
your – and our – hope, which is one and the same.”
In the Gospel, which recalled Jesus’ healing of a man suffering from
paralysis, the Holy Father compared to humanity’s paralyses of the
conscience, of complicity in the moments of poverty. In this paralysis,
Christ's command is the same: “Rise, be on your way.”
“Let us pray for the rapid reinstatement of peace agreements, often
paralysed by opposed and obscure interests,” he said. “Let there finally
be real guarantees of religious freedom for all, along with the right
of Christians to live serenely where they are born, in the homeland they
have loved as citizens for two thousand years, to contribute as always
to the good of all.”
“May the Lord Jesus, who experienced flight with the Holy Family and
was received in your generous land, watch over Egyptians on their
travels throughout the world in search of dignity and security.”
Concluding his homily, the 76 year old Pontiff prayed that in
each person's search for the Lord, new roads for are found for
brotherhood and peace.
Patriarch Sidrak also spoke saying that the Church in Egypt “needs to be supported by the paternal embrace” of Pope Francis.
“In the time that we prepare to celebrate the incarnation of the
Word, we cannot but recall the historical bond between my land and this
mystery, from the moment in which the first place to welcome the Holy
Family in flight from Herod's persecutions was none other than Egypt.”
"This corner of land between the desert and the Nile has known, and
still knows, the painful drama experienced by many people who wish to be
listened to and received," the Patriarch added. "Our Church is there,
ready to welcome whoever knocks on the door, and to offer hospitality to
whoever seeks help, to care for the needy and the abandoned, and to
give witness to the Gospel.”
Source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-concelebrates-mass-with-coptic-patriarch-of-egypt
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