Sent by Pope Francis, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, on Thursday traveled to Syria, where he will remain until Jan. 29, “to bring the pope’s embrace and blessing to Catholics” and to promote the reconstruction of the country.
“It is the intention of the Holy Father that, in the current situation in Syria, they feel the affection and support of the entire Catholic Church and, in particular, of the bishop of Rome, who does not cease to pray for them,” the Vatican dicastery stated.
On Jan. 8, after a lightning offensive, Syrian rebel forces led by the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and its allied factions announced the fall of the regime of President Bashar al Assad, who has sought asylum in Russia.
The Vatican dicastery said in this regard that the local Church now asks “to be able to continue contributing to a Syria that resists the risks of sectarianism and centrifugal forces and promotes unity in diversity.”
According to the statement, Pope Francis therefore urged the reconstruction of “a peaceful country,” whose prosperity is guaranteed “by all its components while respecting freedom, the dignity of the human person, and diversity.”
He also emphasized the need to draft a new constitution and hoped that the restrictions that “have driven Syrians into poverty and encouraged dramatic emigration” would be lifted. He also assured that the Catholic Church “will make every effort to help in every possible way the rebirth of noble Syria.”
Gugerotti was accompanied by the secretary of the dicastery, Archbishop Michel Jalakh of the Antonin Maronite Order, and by his personal secretary, Franciscan Father Emanuel Sabadakh, as well as the apostolic nuncio in Syria, Cardinal Mario Zenari.
During his visit to the country, he will visit bishops, priests, men and women religious, and Catholic faithful in each of the respective cathedrals. In Damascus and Aleppo, he will meet with leaders, priests, religious, and laypeople from the communities and with the charitable organizations of the local churches.
Also, according to the agenda provided by the Vatican dicastery, Gugerotti will participate in the plenary assembly of Catholic bishops to be held in the city of Homs.
He will also meet with various patriarchs of the Orthodox churches, such as the patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East, Mor Ignatius Afram II, and the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Holiness John X, as well as other bishops of the Orthodox churches, including the bishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
The cardinal will bring the greetings of Pope Francis to all of them, “assuring them that in the current situation the unity of Christians is imperative and that the Catholic Church is ready for any collaboration,” the dicastery’s statement added.
On Jan. 25, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and the last day of the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, Gugerotti will celebrate a Mass at the Memorial of St. Paul and will also venerate the relics of the Holy Martyrs of Damascus in the Latin church and in the Maronite Cathedral of Bab Touma. He is also expected to visit the headquarters of the apostolic nunciature in Beirut, Lebanon.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
