This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Leo XIV received in audience the members of the Synod of the Church of Baghdad of the Chaldeans.
The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present during the meeting:
Address of the Holy Father
Your Excellencies, dear Brother Bishops,
Peace be with you! It is a pleasure to meet you here in Rome, gathered for the celebration of your Synod, which is intended to fulfil a fundamental act for the life of the Chaldean Church of Baghdad: the election of the new Patriarch. I am delighted to meet you at this time of precious ecclesial discernment. Through you, I extend a warm greeting to the priests, men and women religious, seminarians and all the beloved faithful of the Chaldean Church, both within your own territory and in the numerous diaspora scattered throughout the world. I know that many are spiritually united with this moment, participating in it intensely through prayer.
Your Church has its roots in the early apostolic Church, representing a very ancient and fruitful tradition that, intimately linked to the very sources of salvation, was able to carry the Gospel beyond the borders of the Roman Empire, developing a Christianity rich in faith, culture and missionary spirit, as far as India and China. You are the custodians of a living and noble memory, of a faith handed down through the centuries with courage and fidelity. Your history is glorious, yet also marked by severe trials: wars, persecutions and tribulations that have afflicted your communities and scattered many of the faithful throughout the world. And it is precisely in these wounds that the luminous witness of faith shines forth, for whilst your Church bears the scars of history, it is the Risen Lord himself who shows us how the most painful wounds can become, in him, signs of hope and new life. Together with you, I can echo the words of Saint Ephrem and say to Christ: “Glory be to You, Who laid your cross as a bridge over death. … Glory be to You, Who clothed Yourself in the body of mortal Adam, and made it a fountain of life for all mortals” (Homily on Our Lord, 9).
Dear brothers, in the Paschal hope that invites us not to be afraid to face new and unexpected challenges without losing heart, your Synod represents a time of grace and of great responsibility. You are called to elect the Patriarch at a delicate and complex time, at times even a controversial one. I invite you to let yourselves be guided by the Holy Spirit, finding in Him harmony and seeking not what appears most useful in the eyes of the world, but what is most in keeping with the heart of Christ.
May the new Patriarch be, above all, a father in the faith and a sign of communion with all and amongst all. It might seem that living according to the Gospel—that is, in meekness and in the patient pursuit of unity—is going against the tide and at times even counterproductive, but in reality it proves to be the wisest path, for love is the only force that overcomes evil and defeats death. What prevails and never ends is that charity of which the Apostle Paul speaks: patient, persevering, capable of forgiving and enduring all things, without ever showing disrespect to anyone (cf. 1 Cor 13:4–8).
May His Beatitude be a man of the Beatitudes: called not to extraordinary deeds nor to cause a stir, but to a daily holiness, consisting of honesty, mercy and purity of heart. May he be a Shepherd capable of listening and accompanying, for authority in the Church is always service and never domination. And if the world or the surrounding context were to lead to this, do not be deceived, but always return to the fruitful and prophetic simplicity of the Gospel. May the Patriarch be an authentic guide close to the people, not a conspicuous and detached figure. May he be a man rooted in prayer, capable of bearing the weight of difficulties with realism and hope, a master of pastoral care who identifies concrete paths for the good of the people of God together with his brother Bishops, in that spirit of harmony which must characterise a patriarchal Church, whose authority is represented by the Synod of Bishops presided over by the Patriarch, promoter of unity in charity, in full harmony with the Successor of the Apostle Peter.
In light of the events that have marked your Church in recent years, I perceive with particular intensity the responsibility of the moment you are experiencing. And I would like to say to you: I am with you. May the trials you are undergoing impel you to offer a response enlightened by faith and marked by communion, even towards Christians belonging to other denominations, true brothers and sisters in faith with whom it is good to establish relationships of authentic sharing. In this way, you will be a great example and encouragement also to your dear and admirable people, whom I hold in my heart and for whom I pray.
In gratefully acknowledging the many contributions that the various Patriarchs have made to the Chaldean Church – I am referring also to the significant contributions of His Beatitude Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako and the remarkable efforts he has made – I feel that this is a time for spiritual renewal, a renewal faithful to your precious and distinctive traditions, which must be preserved. I think of the richness of your liturgical and spiritual heritage, and in this regard I wish to echo the words of the Council: “The very rich liturgical and spiritual heritage of the Eastern Churches should be known, venerated, preserved and cherished by all. They must recognize that this is of supreme importance for the faithful preservation of the fullness of Christian tradition” (Unitatis redintegratio, 15).
Allow me to make a few more remarks that are both fraternal and paternal. I urge you to be attentive and transparent in the administration of goods, sober, measured and responsible in the use of the media, and prudent in public statements, so that every word and action may contribute to building up — and not to harming — ecclesial communion and the witness of the Church. Pay heed to the formation of priests, your closest collaborators in ministry: support them through your closeness, building with them and for them a concrete and tangible fraternity. And help, above all by your example, consecrated persons to safeguard the ineffable gifts of obedience and chastity. Accompany the lay faithful, providing them with pastoral care, so that they may feel encouraged, despite all trials, to remain steadfast in the faith received from the Fathers and to remain in their homelands. This is important for the whole Church, for the regions where the light of faith – the Eastern Light – first shone cannot do without believers in Jesus, without Christians, who are to the Middle East as the stars are to the sky. May the clouds obscuring this light disperse: may Christians throughout the Middle East be respected, not merely in words; may they enjoy true religious freedom and full citizenship, without being treated as guests or second-class citizens!
Brothers, you are signs of hope in a world marked by absurd and inhuman violence, which at this time, driven by greed and hatred, is spreading with ferocity precisely in the lands that saw salvation arise, in the sacred places of the Christian East, desecrated by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, considered at best as a collateral effect of their own interests. But no interest can be worth the lives of the weakest, of children, of families; no cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood. You, called to be tireless peacemakers in the name of Jesus, help us to proclaim clearly that God does not bless any conflict; to cry out to the world that whoever is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, never stands on the side of those who yesterday wielded the sword and today drop bombs; to remind the world that it is not military action that will create spaces of freedom or times of peace, but only the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.
Your mission is a great one: to proclaim the Risen Christ even in the midst of death, to be a living presence of faith and charity, and to keep hope alive where it seems to be fading. Do not lose heart: the Lord walks with you. I thank you for what you do and I accompany you, especially through the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. I entrust this Synod and the election of the new Patriarch to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of Saint Thomas the Apostle and of his disciples Addai and Mari, authors of a splendid Anaphora which remains your pride to this day. May the Holy Spirit enlighten and guide you in your decisions. Upon you and upon all the faithful of the Chaldean Church I earnestly invoke the Lord’s blessing.
