Number: 14846 Date: 12-Feb-01 Type: U Code::

Melkite Patriarch Meets with Pope

VATICAN, Feb. 11, 01 (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II met with Patriarch Gregory III of Antioch, the leader of the Melkite Catholic Church, in Rome on Monday.

The Pontiff and the Patriarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy in St. Peter's Basilica on February 12, as the Melkite prelate came to pay his respects for the first time since his election in November of last year. Patriarch Gregory was accompanied by about 700 Melkite Catholics from all around the world.

The meeting with the Holy Father was "a very great joy," Patriarch Gregory said. He told the Pope: "The Arab world needs your presence, you words, you ministry, and your international influence."

Becoming more specific and more pointed in his remarks, the patriarch continued by saying that the Pope offers "precious hope for the Palestinian cause." He added: "We cannot allow a single people to undermine the peace and equilibrium of such a great number of Arab countries, to sow the seeds of conflict and of hatred, to ruin them economically, and to put the Christian presence in danger." The patriarch added that the Melkite Catholic Church is "deeply engaged in questions of justice, peace, and the rights of the Arab peoples, especially in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq."

The Melkite Catholic Church is one of the most important Christian communities in the Middle East-- second only to the Maronite Catholic Church in the number of her faithful. Emigration and shifting population patterns have produced Melkite communities in Europe, the Americas, and Australia, but the Byzantine Catholic community remains centered primarily in Syria, Lebanon, and the Holy Land. Patriarch Gregory resides in Damascus-- and will greet the Pope when he visits there in May.

In his remarks to the Pope, the Melkite patriarch also observed that the Eastern-rite Catholic community can play an important role in ecumenical affairs. The Melkite Church in particular enjoys close ties with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch. "We have always been a Church of dialogue," Patriarch Gregory said. "The Melkite Church is very much involved in the concrete efforts to regain unity with the patriarchate of Antioch." That Orthodox patriarchate, he added, is the most influential Orthodox group in the Arab world. Pope John Paul applauded that ecumenical effort, and urged the Melkite Church to show "prudent courage" in continuing the drive toward Christian unity. He also acknowledged that Melkite Catholics have faced enormous difficulties in the "tormented context" of the Middle East. "You should be, at one and the same time, ardent defenders of the vulnerable and tireless builders of peace," he said.