CWN - As he convened a consistory of cardinals on October 20, Pope Francis lamented the plight of Christians in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria.
“We cannot resign ourselves to thinking about the Middle East without Christians, who for 2,000 years have confessed the name of Jesus,” he said.
“We are witnessing a phenomenon of terrorism of previously unimaginable dimensions,” he added. “Many of our brothers and sisters are being persecuted and have been constrained leave their homes in a brutal way … This unfair situation requires an adequate response by the international community, as well as and in addition to our constant prayer.”
The consistory is devoted to the canonization of three blesseds as well as to the situation of the Middle East’s Christians.
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