“We will not resign ourselves to imagining a Middle East without Christians.” This was the call made by Pope Francis last week during an audience with participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.
Prior to that audience, the Holy Father met with the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Middle East to discuss the violent situations faced by many in countries such as Syria and Iraq. Attacks targeted toward Christians have caused many to flee their homelands, prompting some to fear a near total loss of Christian identity in the Middle East.
Louis Raphaël I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, is one of the many voices urging Christians to stay in their homeland. Patriarch Sako spoke with ZENIT on his recent meeting with Pope Francis and the current situation facing the Church in the Middle East
ZENIT: The Patriarchs of the Eastern Churches were here in Rome to discuss the future of Christians in the Middle East. What were some of the challenges discussed during those three days?
Patriarch Sako: The atmosphere was really very positive and it was very relaxed. We were encouraged to discuss all the problems facing the Oriental Churches with the cardinals, the Curia and the members of the Oriental Churches. I would like to thank Cardinal Leonardo Sandri and his collaborators for that. There is a feeling of the importance of Christians in the Middle East. Maybe our problems and also the communities of people living outside their countries in the diaspora help people to be sensitive to our existence and how Christians can survive there.
Read Part One of the full interview here (Part Two comes tomorrow):
Defending Christianity in the Middle East (Part 1) | ZENIT – The World Seen From Rome