In the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East, Christians are enduring great hardships and the “little flock” they comprise is shrinking steadily. Squeezed between two extremisms – Jewish (Israel) and Islamic (Muslim countries) – and subject to religious and social discrimination, many Christians prefer to flee from their harsh reality of conflict and instability. Their woeful plight calls for our sympathy, spiritual support and solidarity.
They belong to the countries of the Bible. The Holy land, in particular, is the cradle of Christianity. Jesus was born, lived and died there. His disciples were first called Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:26) in Syria. Persecution scattered them. On the way, they announced the Gospel to the non-Jews, hence starting the Church’s universal mission. Now, they are fleeing again to find peace and tranquility. While pilgrims from all over the world flock there to find their faith’s roots, native Christians move out because they feel they are foreigners in their homeland.
Their mass exodus will be one of the main issues of the special assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops that will gather in Rome from 10 to 24 October. Related issues to be discussed, according to the Instrumentem Laboris (the working document), are: widespread Islamization, lack of political and religious freedom, political instability, the continuation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the need of peace founded on justice.
Invited to the synodal assembly are the Latin Church in the Middle East and the various Churches in communion with Rome, born from the divisions of the 5th century and the Great Schism at the beginning of the 11th century. They are different according to rite, geographic location or national allegiance. The Synod is an opportunity to foster their renewal and witness, overcome suspicions and misunderstandings, deepen their bonds of communion and affirm their specificities when compared to other faiths and societies among which they live.
The Middle East, being “a predominantly Muslim society, be it Arab, Turkish, Iranian or a Jewish society in the State of Israel,” interreligious dialogue is an unavoidable issue. It requires great friendship but, at the same time, great clarity. In Muslim countries, Christians are considered second-class citizens. There’s a growing demand for the application of the principle of reciprocity and to emphasize the urgency of implementing the freedom of religion and conscience, with the right to proclaim the gospel in Muslim countries in the same way that Muslims have the right to preach Islam.
The Synod has relevance also for Christian immigrants, especially from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Sudan. They often have to endure gross human rights violations. Across the region, there are more than one million domestic workers, many of them Catholics, who are treated like slaves. In South Arabia alone, there are more than one million migrant Christians who are denied the right to their religion. It is simply unacceptable that a state known for exporting fundamentalist Islam and for paying for the construction of mosques everywhere behaves in such a fanatic way!
The Middle East is a geopolitical hotspot. During his visit to Cyprus last May – the third apostolic visit he made to the region – Pope Benedict XVI renewed his call “for an urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the ongoing tensions, especially in the Holy Land, before such conflicts lead to greater bloodshed.” The Synod is a call to end conflicts and to ensure respect for human rights and religious freedom.
