Sunday morning, 10 October 2010, Saint Peter’s Basilica witnessed an extraordinary sight: All the bishops of the Catholic churches of the Middle East gathered around the Successor of Peter to concelebrate the Eucharist. The multicolored flowing robes, the variety of headdresses, and the diversity of accents gave eloquent testimony to the very nature of the Church, unity in diversity. The solemn ceremony opened the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, an historic first convocation of the leaders of all the Catholic churches from Turkey to Egypt and as far east as Iran, including as well the region of the Arabian peninsula. Eastern bishops ministering to Middle East flocks in Western lands were there, as well as representatives of other Eastern Catholic churches, episcopal conferences and dicasteries of the Holy See. Other attendees included superiors general of religious orders, special nominees of the Holy Father, fraternal delegates of other churches, and invited experts and observers.
Every day for the next two weeks, all gathered in prayer every morning, celebrating each day according to a different liturgical rite and tradition, before spending all the morning and much of the late afternoon commenting on the draft working documents and offering heartfelt analyses of the situation of the Middle East churches and faith-filled proposals for their growth and development. It was a rare opportunity in the Vatican to hear the Arabic language widely spoken — in addition to Italian, French or English — as the synod fathers spoke their minds and opened their hearts to describe the challenges faced by their minority Christian faithful in the overwhelmingly Muslim world of the Middle East.
Cardinal John Patrick Foley, beloved Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a special nominee to the synod of the Holy Father, was an important participant. His role of leadership of the Order with its mandate to support the Christian presence in the Holy Land almost corresponded to the mandate of the synodal assembly itself, for in the broadest sense “Holy Land” almost can be identified with “Middle East.” The lands touched by the Lord Himself include all of Israel, Palestine and Jordan and parts of Lebanon, Syria and Egypt; the territories of the Bible also include Turkey, Cyprus, Iraq and Iran.
“As messengers of Christ’s peace, I am convinced that all of us must pray and work for peace in the Middle East — especially for a just and lasting peace between Palestine and Israel and among their neighbors,” the good cardinal said in his first synodal intervention. “As the one honored by our Holy Father with the task of serving as Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, I am inspired by the interest and generosity of the almost 27,000 Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre in 56 jurisdictions all over the world. Many have made pilgrimages to the Holy Land where they have visited not only the places made sacred by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ but also the parishes, schools, and hospitals which serve those we call the ‘living stones’— the Christian descendants of the original followers of Jesus Christ in that land we call ‘holy.’”
When Cardinal Foley concluded, “May these common [Jewish, Christian, and Muslim] beliefs and practices be acknowledged and followed in the hope of greater mutual understanding and of reconciliation, peace, and indeed love in that land which all of us, Jew, Christian, and Muslim, are moved to call ‘holy,’” he echoed the great, common theme of the synod, Communion and Witness. The deliberations and resolutions of this historic assembly were first concerned with the situation of Christians in the Middle East, the challenges facing them — ranging from political conflicts, freedom of religion and conscience, the evolution of contemporary Islam, emigration, and immigration of Christians to the Middle East from other parts of the world — and the response of Christians in daily life.
A profound reflection on ecclesial communion — “Now the company of those who believed were on one heart and soul (Acts 4:32) — was the next great concern of the synod fathers. At root it names our common participation in Christ’s death and resurrection and in the mystery of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. The Middle East bishops spoke lovingly of building closer ties among the Catholic churches, especially among the diverse Eastern Catholic churches themselves and with the great Western church of Rome. The importance of common bonds of discipleship with the Orthodox and other churches and ecclesial communities was signaled as the next of the broadening circle of relationships in the Spirit that are the essence of church. In spite of the personal experience of discrimination in their homelands of so many of the synod fathers, all spoke of the vital importance of fellowship with other believers in the One God of Abraham, Muslims and Jews.
The concluding reflection of the synod articulated a profoundly evangelical position of faith, hope, and charity — a total confidence in the Divine Providence that has nurtured a “little flock” in the midst of so many challenges and difficulties and that has also entrusted it with a demanding vocation and call to give testimony in service to humanity, society, and each of the Middle East countries.
Committed to working to prepare a new dawn for their homelands and energized by their spiritually rich and fruitful days together in prayer, reflection, and study in union with the Pope, the patient and persevering shepherds of the Eastern lands left Rome to pick up anew their demanding roles of pasturing their hardy flocks in those sometimes rocky and arid lands entrusted to them.
2 June 2011