Scottish Catholic Observer

The Christians of the Middle East are experiencing ‘terrorism of previously unimaginable proportions’ every day of their lives, Pope Francis has said.

“It seems that the awareness of the value of human life has been lost; it seems that the person does not count and can be sacrificed to other interests. And all of this, unfortunately, with the indifference of many,” he said during a special meeting at the Vatican on the Middle East.

The Holy Father met on Monday with the consistory of cardinals—originally gathered for an ordinary public consistory to approve the Canonisation of new saints— to discuss the current situation in the Middle East. The Pope told those gathered that, in the wake of the closing of the extraordinary synod, that he wanted to focus attention on ‘another issue that is very close to my heart, that is, the Middle East, and in particular, the situation of Christians in the region.’

“Recent events, especially in Iraq and Syria, are very worrisome,” he said. “We are witnessing a phenomenon of terrorism of previously unimaginable proportions. Many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted and have had to leave their homes, in a brutal manner, too. This unjust situation demands, beyond our constant prayers, an adequate response from the part of the international community as well.”

As hundreds of thousands of Christians have been forced to flee because of increased violence, the Holy Father said ‘we cannot resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians, who for 2000 years have been professing the name of Jesus.’ He added that he was certain the consistory would produce ‘valuable reflections and suggestions to be able to help our brothers and sisters who suffer and also to respond to the tragedy of the decreasing Christian presence in the land where Christianity was born.’

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, Maronite patriarch, was among the seven patriarchs representing the Latin-rite and Eastern Catholic churches at the meeting.

During the consistory, 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 and 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.

The consistory was concluding as the SCO went to press, but before it ended the Vatican confirmed Pope Francis’s will travel to the Middle East next month.

The visit to Turkey, which will take place from November 28 to 30, will take him to Ankara and Istanbul where he will visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica which is now a museum.

Despite initial speculation, the schedule for Pope Francis’s trip does not appear to include a visit to meet refugees fleeing ISIS terrorists at Turkey’s border with northern Iraq.

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—Read the full version of this story in October 24 edition of the SCO in parishes from Friday.