Scottish Catholic Observer

A Middle East without Christians is unthinkable, Pope Francis said on at the opening of the special consistory on the Middle East.

The Holy Father dedicated the opening of the consistory to the Middle East, and in particular, the situation experienced by Christians. He thanked those brothers from the region for their presence, remarking that ‘we share a desire for peace and stability in the Middle East, and the will the promote the resolution of conflicts through dialogue, reconciliation and political commitment.’

“At the same time, we would like to give all the help possible to Christian communities to support them in remaining in the region,” the Pope said. “We cannot resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians, who have profess the name of Jesus there for over two thousand years.”

After the Pope’s initial address, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, took the floor. The cardinal said that ‘the military response cannot be the only one’ put into action in the Middle East.

“In the specific case of the violations and the abuses committed by the so-called Islamic State, the international community, through the United Nations and the appropriate bodies, will have to act in order to prevent possible and new genocide and to assist the numerous refugees,” he said.

During the consistory, which ends tomorrow, the cardinals also agreed also approved two causes of Canonisation. The cardinals will set a date for the canonisation of Blessed Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception, an Italian religious who founded, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Congregation of the Sisters, Expiatory Victims of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

The Pope himself will Canonise Blessed Joseph Vaz, a native of Goa who evangelised Sri Lanka, whose Canonisation Mass will take place January 14, 2015, during the Papal trip to Sri Lanka.

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