Vatican City, 8th May 2008 (CNA) - Pope Benedict received a large
delegation of Melkite Greek Catholics this morning at the Vatican. The
Pontiff called on the clergy to refrain from becoming involved in
politics and exhorted the local Church to open the path to peace by
proposing the light of the Gospel.
The 300 Melkite Greek Catholics were lead by Patriarch
Gregorious III Laham on a pilgrimage to Rome. The Melkite Greek Church is in
communion with the Pope.
Noting that the Church lives in an area that is a
cultural and religious crossroads, Pope Benedict praised "the vitality of
the Melkite Church, despite the difficulties of the region's social and
political situation."
Indeed, Damascus, the site of St. Paul’s conversion, is
located in the same area, the Pope observed. It was his conversion that
“opened the doors of Christianity to all the nations," Benedict said. With
the beginning of the Pauline Year approaching (June 28), the Holy Father
asked the patriarch to carry out "an intense pastoral outreach" to awaken in
the faithful "a new impetus to know ever more closely the person of Christ,
thanks to a renewed reading of Paul's writings". This focus," he emphasized,
"will also guarantee a thriving future for the Melkite Church".
The internal functioning of the Melkite Church was also
addressed by the Pope, who said that "the role of the Bishops' Synod is of
primary importance” and “every time the right allows for it” the Synod
should be given “the standing it merits."
After emphasizing the “urgent obligation” of Christians
to tear down divisions between themselves, the Holy Father also praised the
Melkite Church’s “good relations with the Muslims.”
The Holy Father also addressed the Church’s interaction
with the secular realm in the “troubled" and “at times dramatic context of
the Middle East."
This places the Church in situations where politics
affects its life and makes it important to maintain contact with the various
political parties, Pope Benedict said. “Nevertheless, it does not fall to
the clergy to dedicate themselves to a political life. That is the duty of
the laity.”
Instead, the Church can best carry out its mission by
proposing “the light of the Gospel to all so that all may dedicate
themselves to serve the common good and so that justice may always prevail,
so that the path to peace for all peoples in this much loved region may be
opened," he concluded.
