CONGREGATIO
PRO ECCLESIIS ORIENTALIBUS
Press Release of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches
97th Plenary Assembly of ROACO (“Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches”)
Conference Hall of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, 24 to 27 June 2024
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches announces that from Monday 24 to Thursday 27 June, the 97th Plenary Assembly of ROACO will be held in the Conference Hall of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus.
The work will begin with the Steering Committee in the afternoon of Monday 24.
On Tuesday 25, at 8.30, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches and president of ROACO, will preside over the inaugural Eucharistic Celebration, during which the benefactors, both living and deceased, will be remembered, and prayers will be offered for peace, entrusting to the Lord and to the intercession of the All-Holy Mother of God the countries suffering from war, together with the sessions scheduled.
The first session will focus on the situation in the Holy Land, through contributions from the apostolic delegate in Jerusalem, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, the Custos of the Holy Land and Guardian of Mount Zion, Fr. Francesco Patton O.F.M., and the vice-chancellor of Bethlehem University, Br. Hernan Santos F.S.C.; information will also be shared regarding the Pro Terra Sancta Bulletin for 2023. In the afternoon session, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, will present an overview of the diplomatic action of the Holy See at the current juncture, with particular reference to Ukraine, the Middle East and Ethiopia.
Attention will then turn to the Karabakh region, with a report from Bishop Gevork Saroyan, head of the Social Service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and representative of the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Holiness Karekin II.
The day of Wednesday 26 will be devoted to reflection on the theme: “Pastoral care of the Eastern Catholics residing outside the Territorium Proprium: challenges and possibilities today”. The speakers will be Archbishop Borys Gudziak, metropolitan of Philadelphia of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholis; Bishop Frank Kalabat, Chaldean bishop of Detroit; the Reverend Éric Millot, director of the Migration and Mission Office of the French Episcopal Conference; Bishop Antoine Audo, Chaldean bishop of Aleppo; and Mr. Daoud Boutros Tayeh, secretary general of the Pastoral Council of the Maronite Eparchy of Jounieh. His Eminence Cardinal Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio in Syria, will take the floor to report on the development of the “Open Hospitals” project.
The work will conclude with the Steering Committee at the end of the Plenary Session, in order to plan future appointments. An audience with the Holy Father is scheduled for the morning of Thursday 27.
Besides the speakers, the Plenary will be attended by the representatives of the Catholic Agencies that form part of ROACO, the superiors and officials of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, some representatives of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood.
Due to the intense programme and the confidential nature of the work, interviews will not be granted.
