Cardinal Leonardo Sandri is calling for a rediscovery of the contributions offered by the Melkite Church, particularly leading up to the October synod of bishops for the Middle East.
The prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches said this
Tuesday in an address to bishops of the Melkite Church who are working in
Argentina.
The cardinal was present at a Eucharistic celebration held in
Cordoba, along with Gregorios III Laham, patriarch of Antioch for the Greek
Melkite Church; Melkite Bishop Abdo Arbach, head of the apostolic exarch in
Argentina; and Archbishop Carlos José Ñáñez of Cordoba.
The Greek Melkite Church is an Eastern Catholic Church of the
Byzantine rite, that is, a particular Church of the
Catholic Church, which enjoys autonomy and is in full communion with the
Pope.
The Melkite Church originates in the Middle East, but today its
members, which number 1.5 million, have been dispersed on other continents.
Originally, its members were Arab-speaking. The See of the Patriarch is in
Damascus.
Cardinal Sandri noted that "important contributions have
already been made by the Melkite Church in the preparatory phase of the synod
and they have been included in the instrumentum laboris (working
document)."
He continued: "The topic, which is the real objective of the
synod, must be kept constantly in mind: 'Now the company of those who believed
were of one heart and soul.'
"This is of course the commitment of every Christian
community, in every place and every time of Christian history. However, it can
never be taken for granted. Rather, it must represe nt a stimulus that we
cannot ignore."
The cardinal insisted that communion is indispensable to sustain
the evangelical mission. He affirmed that the episcopal synods must always try
to be "only one heart and one soul," so that each of the communities
will be so around their bishop and their parishes and their priests.
Collegiality
The prelate added: "It is a very delicate responsibility that
I entrust to you in a spirit of episcopal fraternity and collegiality.
"We bishops before our faithful, through the adherence to
Christ that we are requested to renew day after day, cannot exempt ourselves
from this mandate: the mandate to the Church of internal communion, so that she
will always grow more decidedly."
The cardinal pointed out that unity always begins with Christ, but
"it calls for our personal conversion."
He explained that "conversion to communion is a daily cross
that mus t be carried so that the Church will be yeast of unity for the whole
human race."
After recalling that the Oct. 10 opening of the synod is just over
a month from now, Cardinal Sandri pointed out that Melkite Catholics "are
very rooted in the Eastern world but also traditionally united to the See of
Peter, of which they acknowledge the responsibility proper to it: that of
communion."
He then invited the bishops to keep alive the physiognomy of the
Church in the diaspora, so that the faithful will not forget their spiritual
roots.
"I think of the spiritual efforts that were asked of them to
keep the second and third Melkite generation in America in the authentic
Eastern identity," the prelate affirmed, "especially in the realm of
the liturgy, but not because of that failing to adopt, at the same time, the
necessary openness to the new ecclesial and social context."
Because of this, he stressed the urgency of & the renewal
of family, youth and vocational ministry, also in the heart of your
Church."
Catechesis
There are sectors "that must be addressed jointly, also with
an incisive and complete catechesis attentive to the real situation of the
faithful," specified the cardinal.
This commitment to a more effective catechesis is urgent above all
"to address the grave problem of sects and of some forms of
religiosity," he said.
Cardinal Sandri added that it must be joined with the appropriate
formation of priests, "as educators of the People of God, so that they
will have adequate doctrinal knowledge and be sustained by a solid spirituality
and good human maturity."
"Vocational discernment, the formation of candidates to Holy
Orders, and the permanent formation of presbyters, are an undeniable
priority," he said.
The cardinal highlighted the fraternity with which the people and
the Church in Argentina received the Melkite Catholics in the country.
"The solidarity demonstrated by the faithful is indispensable
to build a future of hope for those who abandoned their homeland in search of
security and material and spiritual dignity," he said.
The prelate continued, "The challenges of our time need the
solidarity of all the components of the Catholic community and that of other
Christians, as well as of other religions, to influence the social fabric,
which experiences such evident changes in the Argentine homeland itself."
"I do not want to go more deeply into this particularly
delicate realm," he admitted, "but I cannot fail to ask the Melkite
Church and Eastern Catholics, so convinced of the supreme good constituted by
the family -- first cell of society and of the Church -- to continue giving an
effective contribution so that it will be respected and so that the union of
man and woman, with the sacre d bond of sacramental marriage, is defended, especially
when it is gravely wounded."
Cardinal Sandri concluded by reminding the Melkite Catholics of
their vocation to be a bridge of communion between East and West.
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