Patriarch applauds faith conference called by King of Jordan

Today 4.9.2013 was the second and last day of the religious summit held in the Jordanian capital Amman to discuss the difficulties faced by Christian communities in the Middle East.

The faith conference was convened by King Abdullah II, after his visit to Pope Francis last week, and was organised by his Chief Advisor for Religious and Cultural Affairs, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad.

Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, spoke to Vatican Radio's Xavier Sartre about the hopes and fears of Christian communities in the Middle East, appealing for solidarity and prayer.

Listen to Patriarch Twal: 

"We have many challenges, we have many problems. We are really afraid, afraid for the present and for the future. [...] A result of this fear is the emigration of many Christians from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan.

We have to ask ourselves what we can do to avoid more refugees, to avoid the war, to avoid the violence, and to give more hope to our Christians. The fact that we are together is a richness in itself, and it can give hope to our faithful that we are doing something, we are doing our best to give more hope to our Christians that they can remain in their land, in their home, and not leave their homeland and their country.

We rely on collaboration and solidarity, and especially prayers. We still believe in the power of prayer. [...] In anticipation we are very grateful for any solidarity, any prayer. We need peace - and when I say peace, it is peace for all the inhabitants of this region, whether Jews, Muslims or Christians."

Vatican Radio
Source: news.va (Sep. 4, 2013)