Pope Leo XIV look at a pallium, he blessed for the new metropolitan archbishops during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Ishtartv.com – catholicstarherald.org
by Father Joseph D. Wallace, July 2, 2025
During a recent General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV
condemned the “vile terrorist attack” perpetrated June 22 by the Islamic State
on the Greek Orthodox Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria.
The attack took place during the solemnity of Corpus Christi, when two
armed terrorists entered the church during services and detonated explosives,
leaving 25 people dead and injuring 63 others. Following the attack, Pope Leo
expressed solidarity with suffering Christians in the Middle East by stating,
“I am close to you, and the whole Church stands with you.”
These violent incidents are a consequence of the persecution, violence
and displacement that Christians have faced in Syria and much of the Middle
East since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011. During this period, the
Christian population in Syria, as well as throughout most of the Middle East,
has significantly diminished. A substantial number of Christians have emigrated
from the Middle East in recent decades, with estimates indicating a reduction
from 20% of the population to around 3% to 4%.
At a recent plenary Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches,
the Holy See’s humanitarian arm for Eastern Churches, Pope Leo encouraged
participants in their work in hostile areas.
He said, “All of us, by virtue of our humanity are called to examine the
causes of these conflicts, to identify those that are real and to attempt to
resolve them. But also, to reject those that are false, the result of emotional
manipulation and rhetoric, and to make every effort to bring them to light.
People must not die because of fake news.” This committee strives to support
clergy and faithful from Ukraine, Turkey, Syria, the Holy Land, Iran and
Eritrea.
He reminded participants that their work is “a mission in the name of
the Gospel.” He added, “You are sowing seeds of hope in the lands of the
Christian East, which today, as never before, are devastated by wars, plundered
by special interests and covered by a cloud of hatred that renders the air
unbreathable and toxic.”
He lamented that “sadly, too, there have been instances of oppression
and misunderstanding within the Catholic community itself, which at times
failed to acknowledge and appreciate the value of traditions other than those
of the West.”
He called on Christians in the West to come to the aid of Christians in
the East, primarily by their witness. “It is our call to imitate Christ, who
conquered evil by the love he showed on the Cross, and to show a way of
reigning quite different from that of Herod and Pilate,” Pope Leo said. “Herod
for fear of being deposed, murdered children, who even today continue to be
torn apart by bombs; Pilate washed his hands as we risk doing every day until
we arrive at the point of no return.”
Addressing the general state of the world and how quickly nations wage
war upon one another, he added, “It is truly distressing to see the principle
of ‘might makes right’ prevailing in so many situations today, all for the sake
of legitimizing the pursuit of self-interest. It is troubling to see that the
force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding,
replaced by the alleged right to coerce others.”
In conclusion, the Holy Father prayed for the Churches of East and West,
entrusting “this shared growth in faith to the intercession of the Holy Mother
of God and of the apostles Peter and Paul, who united East and West.”
Father Joseph D. Wallace is diocesan director of Ecumenical and
Inter-religious Affairs and pastor of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Atco.
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