Policy & Advocacy
Highlights from the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, October 24, 2010
Highlights from the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops
Excerpts from some of the Synodal Fathers’ speeches and presentations from October 10-24, 2010 (Source: Vatican Information Service)
On October 24, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI closed the Special Assembly for the Middle East with a Mass and a homily that highlighted prayer, solidarity with suffering Christians, the need for greater communion within the Catholic family, and an urgent, concrete commitment to peace and religious freedom in the region.
Prayer and justice
- Theme: Prayer united with the cry of the poor; prayer that persists until God responds and justice is done.
- Implication: The suffering and oppression in the Middle East find immediate echo in God and call the Church to hope-filled action.
Unity within the Church and liturgical richness
- Experience: The Synod lived out the Acts’ image of believers “united, heart and soul.”
- Value: The gathering affirmed the liturgical, spiritual, and theological riches of Eastern Catholic Churches alongside the Latin Church and encouraged mutual participation in each other’s rites to deepen the sense of the universal Church.
Communion, humility, and ecumenism
- Need: Humility to recognize limits and errors is essential for deeper communion within each sui iuris Church and among Catholic Churches.
- Outcome: Stronger internal communion supports ecumenical dialogue with other Churches and ecclesial communities, a priority reiterated by the Synod Fathers.
Christians’ civic role: peace and religious freedom
- Peace: The Pope stressed that peace is both a divine gift and a human responsibility; it is possible, urgent, and indispensable to dignified life and to preventing emigration. Christians must be builders of peace and reconciliation.
- Religious freedom: Promotion of authentic freedom of religion and conscience is a fundamental human right; many Middle Eastern countries allow belief but restrict public religious practice. Expanding space for worship and conscience is essential and a natural topic for Christian–Muslim dialogue.
New evangelization and closing assurance
- Evangelization: The Synod called for presenting the Gospel anew; Pope Benedict announced the 2012 Ordinary General Assembly theme on the new evangelization for passing on the Christian faith.
- Assurance: The Holy See and the universal Church stand with Middle Eastern Christians; they are not alone and remain rooted in the region where the Church was born.