The Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East said that in this Lenten season, the Middle East is experiencing a “Way of the Cross”.
Patriarch Gregory III Laham, said that the current conflicts are “the greatest tragedy since World War II” in his Lenten message.
According to Asia News, the Melkite Patriarch wrote that the Church is having difficulties in meeting the needs of those suffering in the region. “We fail in front of the suffering of our people in all walks of life, Christians and Muslims. It’s a universal suffering,” he wrote.
“We as pastors are with our people, at their side, in front of them, behind them as if we wash the feet of those who are suffering as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.”
Describing the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine as the “fifth year of the Way of the Cross”
“This is a tragedy of the greatest tragedies of history,” he added, “not just in the region, but in the world, since World War II.”
Concluding his message, Patriarch Laham called on citizens to work together and with Pope Francis “to not let the flame of hope be extinguished in your hearts.”
