Pope sends message to persecuted Middle East Christians

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Tuesday published a special Christmas message for persecuted Christians in the Middle East, telling them he prays for them “every day” and announcing plans to visit them in person.

Christian presence in the Middle East has been dwindling for decades, but recently there has been a mass exodus of community members from Iraq and Syria as a result of the steady advance of the Islamic State extremist group.

“I write to you just before Christmas, knowing that for many of you the music of your Christmas hymns will also be accompanied by tears and sighs,” Francis wrote in his letter.

“I want to express to all of you my personal closeness and solidarity, as well as that of the whole Church, and to offer you a word of consolation and hope,” he added.

The pontiff has often mentioned the plight of Christians and other Middle East minorities, such as the Yezidis – most recently during a late November trip to Turkey, which has given shelter to about 1.6 million refugees from Syria and Iraq.

In his Tuesday message, he said he wanted to go to refugee camps in the region.

“I do hope to have the chance to come to you in person and to visit and to comfort you,” Francis wrote.

The pope urged Middle Eastern Christians to persevere and keep up interfaith dialogue with Jews and Muslims and followers of other religions. “The more difficult the situation, the more interreligious dialogue becomes necessary. There is no other way,” he said.

Renewing a call he had made on the way back from Turkey, Francis urged Muslim leaders to condemn “unanimously and unambiguously” all forms of religious persecution, “and to denounce the practice of invoking religion in order to justify them.”

The pope also called on the international community to multiply peacemaking efforts, and stop arms trafficking. “How much longer must the Middle East suffer from the lack of peace? We must not resign ourselves to conflicts as if change were not possible!” he said.