(RADIO VATICANA IMAGE)CHRIST’S DISCIPLES MUST GIVE AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THEIR UNITY
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Holy Father met with Orthodox Patriarchs, representatives of Protestant communities and Catholic Patriarchs of Lebanon. The encounter took place at the Syrian Catholic Patriarchate in Charfet, Beirut, famous for its library which contains more than 3,000 manuscripts in Syriac and Arabic.
Having listened to some welcome remarks addressed to him by His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, the Holy Father expressed his thanks to those present who, he said, "represent the diversity of the Church in the East. ... My thoughts also go to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and to the Ethiopian Orthodox who have had the recent sadness of losing their respective Patriarchs. I wish to assure them of my fraternal closeness and of my prayers".
Benedict XVI continued: "Allow me to acknowledge here the testimony of faith shown by the Syrian Antiochene Church in the course of its glorious history, a testimony to an ardent love for Christ, which has caused it to write some heroic pages of this history, right up to the present, by remaining committed to the faith even to the point of martyrdom. I encourage this Church to be for the peoples of the region a sign of the peace that comes from God as well as a light that keeps their hope alive. I extend this encouragement to all the Churches and ecclesial communities present in the region".
"Our encounter this evening", he went on, "is an eloquent sign of our profound desire to respond to the call of Christ, 'that all may be one'. In these unstable times, so inclined to the violence which your region knows so well, it is even more necessary that Christ’s disciples give an authentic witness to their unity, so that the world may believe in their message of love, peace and reconciliation. This is a message that all Christians, and we in particular, have been commissioned to hand on to the world, a message of inestimable value in the present context of the Middle East.
"Let us work without ceasing so that the love of Christ may lead us little by little into full communion with each other", the Pope added. "In this regard, by means of common prayer and mutual commitment, we must constantly return to our one Lord and Saviour. For, as I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Medio Oriente' which I have the pleasure of consigning to you, 'Jesus draws into unity those who believe in and love Him; He gives them the Spirit of His Father as well as Mary, His mother'".
The Holy Father concluded his remarks by entrusting the members of the various Churches and communities to the Blessed Virgin. "May she intercede with her Son for us, so that we may be delivered from every evil and from all forms of violence, and so that the Middle East may at last know a time of reconciliation and peace. May the words of Jesus that I have so often cited during this journey - My peace I give to you - be for all of us the common sign that we will give in the name of Christ to the peoples of this beloved region, which longs to see those words fulfilled!"
COURAGEOUSLY RESIST ANYTHING THAT COULD DESTROY OR UNDERMINE PEACE
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father's apostolic trip to Lebanon came to an end yesterday afternoon with the departure ceremony at the international airport of Beirut. Among those present to bid him farewell were Michel Sleiman, president of Lebanon, the country's four Catholic Patriarchs, various Lebanese bishops and representatives of the civil and religious authorities.
In his address, the Pope expressed his thanks "to the entire Lebanese people who form a beautiful and rich mosaic and who have shown the Successor of Peter their enthusiasm by the efforts, both general and specific, of each community. I cordially thank our venerable sister Churches and the Protestant communities. I thank in particular representatives of the Muslim communities. Through my stay here, I have noticed how much your presence has contributed to the success of my journey. In these troubled times, the Arab world and indeed the entire world will have seen Christians and Muslims united in celebrating peace.
"It is a tradition in the Middle East to receive a guest with consideration and respect as you have done", he added. "I thank you all. But, to that consideration and respect, you added something else, which can be compared to one of those renowned oriental spices which enriches the taste of food: your warmth and your affection, which make me wish to return. I thank you for that especially".
"In his wisdom, Solomon asked Hiram of Tyre to build a house for the name of God, a sanctuary for all eternity. And Hiram ... sent wood taken from the cedars of Lebanon. ... Lebanon was present in the sanctuary of God. May the Lebanon of today, and her inhabitants, also dwell in the sanctuary of God! May Lebanon continue to be a place where men and women can live in harmony and peace with each other, in order to give the world not only a witness to the presence of God, ... but also a witness to the communion between people, ... whatever their political, social, or religious standpoint".
The Pope continued: "I pray to God for Lebanon, that she may live in peace and courageously resist all that could destroy or undermine that peace. I hope that Lebanon will continue to permit the plurality of religious traditions and not listen to the voices of those who wish to prevent it. I hope that Lebanon will fortify the communion among all her inhabitants, whatever their community or religion, that she will resolutely reject all that could lead to disunity, and with determination choose brotherhood".
"The Virgin Mary, venerated with devotion and tenderness by the faithful of the religious confessions here present, is a sure model for going forward in hope along the path of a lived and authentic brotherhood. Lebanon understood this well when, some time ago, she proclaimed 25 March as a holiday, thus allowing everyone to live more deeply their unity in serenity. May the Virgin Mary, whose ancient shrines are so numerous in your country, continue to accompany and inspire you!
"May God bless Lebanon and all the Lebanese! May He never cease to draw them to Himself so as to offer them a share in His eternal life! May he fill them with His joy, His peace and His light! May God bless all the Middle East!"
Having completed his farewell address, the Pope boarded his flight for Rome, landing at 9.40 p.m. at Ciampino airport whence he travelled to the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.
FIRST HEARING OF THE ACCUSED IN THE "VATILEAKS" CASE
Vatican City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released the following communique.
"Giuseppe della Torre, president of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, today issued a decree ruling that the first hearing of the trial of Paolo Gabriele and Claudio Sciarpelletti, will take place at 9.30 a.m. on 29 September. The two accused were sent for trial by the examining magistrate on 13 August. The hearing will take place in the audience hall of the Tribunal of Vatican City State. The parties concerned have been notified of the decree".
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