Pope Leo XIV offered a clear measure for the mission of the Church in the Middle East, a region marked by conflict, migration, and hardship, telling Latin-rite bishops serving across the Arab world that the Church’s strength should not be judged by numbers.
“Do not be afraid of your smallness. The fruitfulness of the Church is not measured in numbers, structures or resources, but in fidelity to the Gospel,” the pope said Sept. 3 during a meeting at the Vatican with members of the Conference of the Latin Bishops in the Arab Regions (CELRA).
Pope Leo said a small Christian community, when rooted in Christ, can remain a valuable presence in society, “not because it seeks power, but because it serves; not because it imposes itself, but because it bears witness; not because it responds to violence with more violence, but because it counters force with charity.”
The pope also recalled Christians who have given their lives in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and other countries scarred by violence. Their names, he said, “may not be known to the world, but they are well known to God.”
Their witness, he added, should encourage Christian communities not to give in to fear or resignation, particularly as many families face instability or are forced to emigrate.
Pope Leo called on the Church in the region to give particular attention to families and young people as well as to migrants, especially the large migrant communities living in the states on the Persian Gulf.
He urged Christian communities to become “homes where nobody feels like a stranger” and to defend the dignity of every person. At the same time, he emphasized that amid humanitarian and social challenges, the Church must not lose sight of its essential mission: proclaiming the Gospel, prayer, the sacraments, and Christian formation.
The pope also encouraged greater communion among the Church’s different traditions and rites and called for continued dialogue with Muslims and other religious communities.
“Dialogue does not mean renouncing one’s own identity, but living it out without fear of encounter,” he said.
Concluding his address, Pope Leo urged the bishops not to make success or recognition their primary goal, but instead to remain faithful to the Gospel and to the people entrusted to their care.
“Do not be afraid to sow without immediately seeing the fruits,” he said. “The sowing is yours; the growth is God’s.”
This story was first published by ACI MENA, the Arabic-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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