BY Ian Dunn | October 2 | 
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Pope says Christ suffers with the Christians in the Middle East
Vatican focus on religious persecution in the region seen today during Holy Father’s meetings with the leader of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Apostolic nuncios to Syria, Jordan-Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, Egypt and Turkey
Pope Francis met this morning with Mar Dinkha IV, who has led the Assyrian Church of the East since 1975, and again called for an end to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
The church, which ceased to be in full communion with the Holy See following the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431), has an estimated 400,000 members in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, North America, Australia, and India. It is now headquartered in Illinois.
Pope Francis said the meeting was ‘marked by the suffering we share on account of the wars that beset various regions of the Middle East and in particular for the violence suffered by Christians and members of other religious minorities, especially in Iraq and Syria.’
“In them is the body of Christ that, even today, is wounded, stricken, humiliated,” the Pope said. “When we think of their suffering, it is natural to overcome the distinctions of rite or confession; in them there is the body of Christ that, still today, is injured, beaten and humiliated.
“There are no religious, political or economic factors that can justify what is happening to hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. We are deeply united in our prayers for intercession and in charity towards these suffering members of the body of Christ.”
The Pope also highlighted the progress in the theological dialogue that has taken place in recent decades between the two churches. Together, the Pope said, we confess the ‘one faith of the apostles, the faith in the divinity and humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation.”
The Holy Father also met today with the Apostolic nuncios to Syria, Jordan-Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, Egypt and Turkey at the start of a special three day summit addressing The presence of Christians in the Middle East.
Fr Federico Lombardi, the Holy See’s Press spokesman, said Pope Francis personally summoned the Papal representatives to the Vatican ‘in view of the serious situation created in the last few months in the Middle East.’
This morning Cardinal Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, reported on the situation experienced by Christians in the Middle East before the Papal representatives in Syria and Iraq spoke of conditions of Christians in their respective countries. Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, then spoke on the role of the Church in facing the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.
Pic: Displaced people in Iraq fleeing violence in Iraq walk toward the Syrian border town of Elierbeh, among them persecuted Christians
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