.- Pope Benedict described fundamentalism as “a falsification of religion,” which goes against its true purpose as “an invitation to share God’s peace throughout the world.” “Therefore the commitment of the Church and of religions is to undertake a purification of such temptations, to illuminate consciences and to try and provide everyone with a clear image of God,” said Pope Benedict on Sept. 14 during an in-flight press conference on his way to Lebanon. “We must all respect each other,” the Pope told a group of journalists at the beginning of his three-day trip, “Each of us is an image of God and we must mutually respect each other.” Pope Benedict’s condemnation of fundamentalism comes as anti-American protest spreads across the Middle East following the online publication of a low-budget film mocking the Prophet Mohammed, the 6-7th century founder of Islam.
Pope Benedict appealed on Friday for a halt to the flow of arms into Syria, saying it would help end a civil war that has killed many thousands of people and which Christians fear could bring Islamists to power. In his strongest comments yet on the conflict, Benedict branded the weapons imports as a "grave sin" as he arrived at the start of a three-day visit to Beirut, the Lebanese capital just 50 km (30 miles) from the Syrian border. He also described Arab uprisings as a positive "cry for freedom" as long as they included religious tolerance – the central theme of Benedict’s trip which is focused on promoting peace in the Middle East and harmony between its minority Christians and majority Muslims. Christian, Sunni and Shi’ite Muslim and Druze religious leaders joined Lebanon’s political elite in greeting Benedict on his arrival in a region now rocked by violent protests against an American film that denigrates Islam.
"The import of weapons has to finally stop," Benedict, 85, told journalists on the plane. "Without the import of arms the war cannot continue. Instead of importing weapons, which is a grave sin, we have to import ideas of peace and creativity."
The Arab Spring uprisings against authoritarian leaders were "a positive thing. There is a desire for more democracy, more freedoms, more cooperation and renewal," he said. But he added that it had to include tolerance for other religions. Asked about Christian fears about rising aggression from Islamist radicals, Benedict said: "Fundamentalism is always a falsification of religion."
Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara Boutros al-Rai told Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure that the focus of this papal visit was the role of the Churches of the Middle East and how they can and must contribute to a future of peace in the region. "I think the Apostolic Exhortation is a gift of Divine providence in this difficult moment. It will present a series of challenges confronting the Christians of the region and propose some solutions and a way to proceed". The Patriarch claimed that the Muslim community was "very enthusiastic about the Pope’s visit" and expressed his belief that "the Pope will help bring the dawn of peace to the region." And that the "real Arab Spring will arrive as the fruit of a Christian Spring and we can help to achieve this through communion and witness to love". He added, "This is a region torn by conflict and war and this exhortation will present a new way of presenting positive solutions to the conflict and political tensions. It is important that the Church speaks a language of peace, dialogue and understanding, because the Arab world only hears the language of hatred and violence both regionally and internationally, unfortunately. Violence and war will never bring about a new Spring – Only the opposite". The Holy Father’s plans to travel to Lebanon have been underway for some time. He has often expressed his profound concern for the Christians of the middle East and conviction of the necessity of their continued presence there. He is traveling there to encourage them in their faith and reaffirm their vital role.
The significance of this apostolic visit to Lebanon by the Vicar of Christ cannot be overstated. Its timing is prophetic and its message is urgent. The Christian faithful throughout the world need to pray for the Successor of Peter as he travels on this mission of peace. We also need to pray for the success of his efforts. Finally, we need to pray in solidarity with our Christian brethren in the Middle East in their time of travail. At his Wednesday General audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke these words to the faithful: "I exhort all Christians of the Middle East, both those born there and the newly arrived, to be builders of peace and architects of reconciliation. Let us pray to God that he may fortify the faith of Christians in Lebanon and the Middle East, and fill them with hope.
"The history of the Middle East teaches us the important and sometimes primordial role played by the various Christian communities in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue. Let us ask God to give that region of the world its longed-for peace, and respect for legitimate differences." The Vatican news Agency issued the following report on the visit.
"The Pope is going to Lebanon as a "messenger of peace" and the dramatically mounting tension that still today affects the entire region of the Middle East, "far from discouraging him have made his desire" to undertake this journey "even more pressing". On the eve of Benedict XVI’s departure, offers a key to interpreting the papal visit, describing it as "an invitation to leaders in the Middle East and to the international community to work with determination to find fair and lasting solutions for the region".
In the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, one demonstrator was killed and two others were injured as crowds set fire to an outlet of the American fast food chain KFC.
Elsewhere, three people were killed in Tunisia as crowds attempted to storm the US embassy compound in the capital city of Tunis. Meanwhile the German and British embassies came under attack in Sudan leaving one dead.
“The basic message of religion must be against violence which is a falsification like fundamentalism,” stated the Pope. Instead, the message must be one of “education and the illumination and purification of conscience to promote dialogue, reconciliation and peace.”
Despite the mounting levels of protest across the Middle East Pope Benedict said that “no-one ever advised me to cancel this trip and I never took that idea into consideration.” He asserted that as such diplomatic situations become “more complicated” it is “even more necessary to offer a sign of fraternal encouragement and solidarity.”
The Pope added that he took inspiration from Blessed Pope John Paul II’s visit to Lebanon in 1997 when the country was still recovering from a quarter-century of bloody civil war.
“Therefore the aim of my visit is an invitation to dialogue, to peace and against violence, to go forward together to find solutions to the problems,” he said.
In response to a question on the numerous anti-government uprisings in recent years across the Middle East, the Pope described the so-called “Arab Spring” as “a positive thing” given it denotes “a desire for greater democracy, more liberty, more cooperation and a new Arab identity.”
As with all revolutions, though, “this vital and positive cry for freedom risks forgetting” a “fundamental dimension for freedom – which is tolerance of the other.”
“The fact is that human freedom is always a shared freedom, which can only grow through sharing, solidarity and living together with certain rules,” the Pope said.
Tags: Pope Benedict, Middle East, Lebanon
.- Pope Benedict XVI has signed his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in the Middle East, “Ecclesia in Medio Oriente,” during the first day of his visit to Lebanon.
“The Exhortation as a whole is meant to help each of the Lord’s disciples to live fully and to pass on faithfully to others what he or she has become by Baptism: a child of light, sharing in God’s own light, a lamp newly lit amid the troubled darkness of this world, so that the light may shine in the darkness,” he said.
Pope Benedict made his remarks during the official signing ceremony at the Melkite Greek Catholic Basilica of St. Paul in the coastal town of Harissa, Sept. 14.
“The document seeks to help purify the faith from all that disfigures it, from everything that can obscure the splendor of Christ’s light,” he noted.
“For communion is true fidelity to Christ, and Christian witness is the radiance of the paschal mystery which gives full meaning to the cross, exalted and glorious.”
The exhortation is the Pope’s response to the deliberations of the Synod of Bishops of the Middle East held at the Vatican in October 2010. The topic for discussion then was “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness.”
The Pope, who is in the country from Sept. 14 -16, noted the providence of signing the document on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which has its origins in 4th century Jerusalem during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine.
He also reminded those present that next month is the 1700th anniversary of the appearance to Constantine of the Chi-Rho, the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek. It appeared to the emperor as a “radiant in the symbolic night of his unbelief and accompanied by the words: ‘In this sign you will conquer!’” prior to victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge near Rome, thus paving the way for the acceptance of Christianity within the Roman Empire.
Reading the exhortation with these historic events in mind “leads to renewed appreciation of the identity of each baptized person and of the Church, and is at the same time a summons to witness in and through communion,” said the Pope.
“For Christians, to exalt the cross means to be united to the totality of God’s unconditional love for mankind. It means making an act of faith!” he said.
“To exalt the cross, against the backdrop of the resurrection, means to desire to experience and to show the totality of this love. It means making an act of love!”
“To exalt the cross means to be a committed herald of fraternal and ecclesial communion, the source of authentic Christian witness. It means making an act of hope!”
Listening to Pope Benedict was a packed congregation consisting of leaders of Lebanon’s 40 percent Christian community – mainly Catholic and Orthodox – along with leaders of other religions including the region’s dominant faith, Islam.
The Pope thanked God that it was the people of the Middle East “were the first to welcome his incarnate Son” but also recognized that following Jesus Christ in the region today often requires much “courage and faith.”
This was why, he said, the Synod Fathers were keen to reflect upon the “joys and struggles, the fears and hopes of Christ’s disciples in these lands.”
“In this way, the entire Church was able to hear the troubled cry and see the desperate faces of many men and women who experience grave human and material difficulties, who live amid powerful tensions in fear and uncertainty.”
Such is the way of the exultation of the cross, said the Pope, that it often requires following Christ “even in difficult and sometimes painful situations.”
“It is here and now that we are called to celebrate the victory of love over hate, forgiveness over revenge, service over domination, humility over pride, and unity over division.”
Middle Eastern Christians, therefore, should not fear the future but, instead, should “stand firm in truth and in purity of faith” that results from the “the cross, exalted and glorious.”
“Churches of the Middle East, fear not, for the Lord is truly with you, to the close of the age!” urged Pope Benedict, “Fear not, because the universal Church walks at your side and is humanly and spiritually close to you!”
