Today, Pope Leo speaks more prophetic words to our time. Is anyone listening? Will we “leave him alone” in his prophetic cries and the sorrow he carries in his heart over the immense human suffering that grows greater every day?
"For two weeks now, the peoples of the Middle East have been suffering the horrific violence of war. Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all who have lost loved ones in the attacks, which have struck schools, hospitals and residential areas....
"On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East, and of all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire! May paths of dialogue be reopened! Violence can never lead to the justice, stability and peace for which the peoples are waiting."
~Pope Leo XIV
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UPDATE: In Sunday’s Angelus message, Pope Leo also expressed strong concern over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon (Israel claims this is necessary to go after Iran’s proxy group Hezbollah, which has again launched missiles against them). Today (March 16th) the Israeli State began a ground invasion of Lebanon:
“The situation in Lebanon is a cause for great concern. I hope that avenues for dialogue will emerge to support the country’s Authorities in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis currently unfolding, for the common good of all the Lebanese people.”
But Maronite Christian communities in Southern Lebanon are caught in the crossfire. Last Wednesday, in his General Audience, the Pope referred to this in a very personal way:
“Today in Qlayaa, Lebanon, the funeral of Father Pierre El Raii, Maronite parish priest of one of the Christian villages in southern Lebanon, is being celebrated. These villages are once again experiencing the tragedy of war. I am close to all the Lebanese people at this time of grave trial.“In Arabic, ‘El Raii’ means ‘the shepherd’. Father Pierre was a true shepherd, who always stayed beside his people, with the love and sacrifice of Jesus the Good Shepherd. As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, he rushed to help them without hesitation. May the Lord grant that the blood he shed be a seed of peace for beloved Lebanon.”
He is also a man of justice and love, of solidarity and mercy and charity. He knows that the love of Christ embraces the whole person, and His mercy governs the peoples in history — with particular attention to the poor, to those who are suffering, to victims of violence, to sinners (all of us) who cry out for freedom from the seemingly inescapable abyss of ignorance and cruelty and discouragement that surrounds us and grows out of our own hearts.
He appeals to us to uproot war from our hearts, and take up the “narrow path” of real dialogue, person-to-person dialogue in which we struggle to listen to one another with openness to the Word of God, who (Christians should remember) dwells among us, and to the freedom of the Holy Spirit to enlighten us and to convert and change our hearts.
This cannot be separated from Leo’s concrete, immediate, firm appeal to those in power who are directly responsible for this war. He speaks in the imperative, echoing the voice of another bishop who was martyred 46 years ago because he said “STOP” to those who perpetrated violence and injustice in his own country. In Leo’s firm insistence we can hear the resonance of the witness of the Latin American bishop whose martyrdom we will commemorate next week, the great Saint Oscar Romero. Jesus knows the secret fruits of Romero’s martyred blood that have yet to appear, just as Jesus knows the mysterious fruits of the self-offering of Father Pierre El Raii. And Jesus will sustain His servant, Pope Leo, in bearing the burdens of the present moment.
In the name of Christ’s Body — the Christian people — and all people of good will, Leo has “demanded” of the Powers that are prosecuting this reckless and destructive war:
“CEASE FIRE!”
