The Middle East - which nowadays
continues to make headlines with news of violence, war, oppression, persecution
and injustice - needs the unity and witness of Christians. This
is Benedict XVI's simple, direct proposal, essential for Churches in the region
and throughout the world.
In
his Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia
in Medio Oriente," fruit of the Synod held in the Vatican in October
2010, he calls Christians to specific political, partisan, ideological commitments
asking them to be Christians, with a strong identity, based on faith in
Jesus Christ and the Church's tradition.
In
the 90-page document, the word "faith" is mentioned more than 65
times. It
is what gives strength to Christian life (no. 41), the push for collaboration
between different denominations that bear witness to "the unity of the faith amid the diversity of
their traditions " (2), the root of all ecumenism with
Jews and Muslims (#
3), the source of every contribution to charity and culture that the faithful
can make to society (No. 67).
Strengthening the faith
The
Apostolic Exhortation does not offer political solutions. The
Holy See's position on a number of regional conflicts, the holy places and the
status of Jerusalem is mentioned only in passing, (n. 10). On
the other hand, the tangled skein of problems - from the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, to Syria, from coexistence, to the exodus of Christians and Muslims,
poverty, injustice - does not afford an easy agenda. At
the same time, the Middle East is witness to festering dramas - for example the
plight of Palestinian refugees, of Syrian and Iraqi Christians, of Kurds and
other minorities, the relationship between Sunnis and Shiites, between moderate
and fundamentalist Islam - and the failure of any attempts to find solutions.
The
Pope speaks with sorrow of all this: " How
many deaths have there been, how many lives ravaged by human blindness, how
many occasions of fear and humiliation! It would seem that there is no end to
the crime of Cain (cf.
Gen 4:6-10 and 1 Jn 3:8-15) among the sons of Adam and Eve created in God's
image (cf. Gen 1:27). Adam's transgression, reinforced by
the sin of Cain, continues to produce thorns and thistles (cf. Gen 3:18) even today. How sad it is to see this blessed
land suffer in its children who relentlessly tear one another to pieces and
die!" (N. 8).
Somehow,
Benedict XVI believes that Christians have been conniving with these
situations. Suffice
it to recall the massacre in the Palestinian camp of Sabra and Shatila (1982),
by Lebanese Forces (Christian!), and at the behest of Israel. But
the list could be much longer with Christian supporters of the Syrian Baath
party, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the militancy of Hezbollah, .. For
this reason he first asks Christians for "repentance" and
"conversion" (n. 8), to return to proclaim that " that
only Jesus, who passed through sufferings and death in order to rise again, is
capable of bringing salvation and peace to all who dwell in your part of the
world (cf.
Acts 2:23-24, 32-33) "(n. 8). The
"sin" of Christians is the result of "when the eschatological dimension of the faith has been
attenuated and the Christian sense of history moving towards fulfilment in God
has yielded to earthbound perspectives and projects" (n. 80).
Therefore,
to strengthen the faith and its reason, the document devotes many pages to the
internal life of the Church, unity and witness of patriarchs, bishops, priests,
monks and nuns, lay people, families, youth and children (see . the second and third parts).
Healthy secularism and fundamentalism
At
the same time, he demands a specific contribution of Christians to society, in helping
to overcome two major obstacles in the region (and the world): an unhealthy secularism
and fundamentalism.
The
Pope explains that secularism is to be rejected when it reduces religion to the
private sphere, alien to society (n. 29). But
he speaks of the importance of implementing a "healthy secularity" that
fosters "mutual respect between
politics and religion, avoiding the constant temptation either to merge the two
or to set them at odds."
"This kind of healthy secularity ensures that
political activity does not manipulate religion, while the practice of religion
remains free from a politics of self-interest which at times is barely
compatible with, if not downright contrary to, religious belief" (n. 29) .
Religious
fundamentalism that uses "economic
and political instability, a readiness on the part of some to manipulate
others, and a defective understanding of religion" is not the prerogative only of Muslims. It
"afflicts all religious
communities, and denies their long-standing tradition of coexistence". It wants
to gain power" continues the Pope, "at times violently, over individual
consciences, and over religion itself, for political reasons."
And
once again - as he has done in recent years - he launched an appeal to "to all Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious
leaders in the region to seek, by their example and by their teaching, to do
everything in their power to eliminate this menace which indiscriminately and
fatally affects believers of all religions". (No. 30).
Peace and religious freedom
Christians
also have a contribution to make to the question of peace (Nos 9 and
10). Reflecting
on the meaning of the word in its Jewish origin ("being complete and
intact, restored to wholeness"), the Pope defines it as "the state of
those who live in harmony with
God and with themselves, with others and with nature", which also
affirms justice. Only
by reaffirming the religious dimension of peace will it be implemented: "
Christians
know that the earthly politics of peace will only be effective if
justice in God
and justice among men and women are its authentic basis, and if this
same
justice battles against the sin which is at the origin of division. "(n.
10). With
all this, the Church works to make every effort for peace and engages
mainly in
the fraternal relationship with Jews and Muslims. Together
with them, in "recognition of the One God", we can "make a powerful
contribution to peace in the
region and to respectful coexistence on the part of its peoples" (n.
19). Moreover,
it is this "contribution made by
Jews, Christians and Muslims" over the centuries which has led to "the
formation of a rich culture proper to the Middle East" (n. 24).
In
order for Christians to contribute to the good of society, as they have always
done in the past, full freedom of religion must be guaranteed: " The
Catholics of the Middle East, the majority of whom are native citizens of their
countries, have the duty and right to participate fully in national life,
working to build up their country. They should enjoy full citizenship and not
be treated as second-class citizens or believers. "(n. 25). The
pontiff recalls the Arab renaissance, the schools, hospitals, institutions with
which Christians have enriched the life of the peoples of the Middle East. He
reaffirms that the rights of the person to religious freedom is not only a
"Christian right", but "nothing less than the rights demanded by the dignity
of each human person and each citizen, whatever his or her origins, religious
convictions and political preferences" (n. 25).
He
defines the content of religious freedom: "It includes on the individual and collective levels
the freedom to follow one's conscience in religious matters and, at the same
time, freedom of worship. It includes the freedom to choose the religion which
one judges to be true and to manifest one's beliefs in public". And
again: "It must be possible to
profess and freely manifest one's religion and its symbols without endangering
one's life and personal freedom. " (n. 26)
The
Pope also states that it is necessary to move from a limited
"tolerance" to a true "religious freedom." This
step is not "an open door to relativism," but a respect for the
"ray of truth" that "enlightens all men" (n. 27). "Truth can only be known and experienced in
freedom; for this reason we cannot impose truth on others; truth is disclosed
only in an encounter of love " (ibid.).
In
this way, the Middle East - almost synonymous with violence and destruction -
can become a laboratory of coexistence: "The attention of the whole world is fixed on the
Middle East as it seeks its path. May this region demonstrate that coexistence
is not a utopia, and that distrust and prejudice are not a foregone conclusion.
Religions can join one another in service to the common good and contribute to
the development of each person and the building of society" (n. 28).