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December 4, 2024Your Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, Your excellency most reverend Christoph El Kassis, Apostolic Nuncio to the UAE, Your Excellency Mar Remigius, dear Parish Priest, Father Lennie, dear Priests, Esteemed authorities and dignitaries of the Syro Malabar Community, dear beloved faithful of the Syro Malabar Church, dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
May the Lord give you Peace and the Joy of the risen Lord.
I am extremely pleased to participate in the Syro Malabar Day 2024 in Dubai this year with a special joy for the presence of His Beatitude Mar Rafael Thattil, Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church.
First of all, I extend a warm welcome to The Major Archbishop to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, especially welcome to the parish of St. Mary’s in Dubai, which we can say without a doubt is the largest parish in the world.
The opportunity of this beautiful meeting allows me first of all to express my joy and great esteem for the Syro Malabar community of Dubai and in the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia in general.
You, dear faithful, with your precious presence, bring your own specific contribution of spirituality and tradition, rooted in the testimony and preaching of the Apostle Thomas.
I was recently in Rome together with the Major Archbishop to participate in the Synod of Bishops on how to be a Synodal Church in Mission. We have spoken a lot about migrants and the relationship between the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches.
It is now clear that we are in a real change of era, not only because of the great technological and scientific discoveries, but above all because of the great mixing of peoples throughout the world.
You know well what it means that many Syro Malabar faithful today do not live in Kerala but are scattered around the world, in different continents. This is a condition that many faithful from all over the world are experiencing.
We must realize that the irreversible phenomenon of migration is changing the face of the society and the Church. We are facing with something that we do not yet know. Faithful of the Eastern Churches go to the West and faithful of the Latin Church go to the East.
Just as the early Church, faced with unprecedented situations, had to stop and pray, think and decide synodally with the help of the Holy Spirit on what to do, in the same way the Church today is also questioning itself about the best form to have on the territory to preserve the different traditions and to achieve, at the same time, that exchange of spiritual gifts hoped for by Pope Francis in the recent Synod of Bishops, that is, to live unity in diversity in order to be a missionary Church today.
Differences must not be overcome, but there must be a fruitful reciprocity between them. Only an inclusive Church can be authentically missionary. In this way the event of migration becomes an opportunity given by divine providence for a new missionary season of the Church in the world.
As we know, the Church that lives in the Gulf is composed entirely of migrants, where the people remain migrants until the end. Here no one is stable, including priests, nuns and bishops.
The Apostolic Vicariate reflects the intercultural nature of these regions of the world. Here, believers from over a hundred nations with their own traditions live together. Here we feel the desire to remain anchored to our tradition because it represents our most intimate identity and constitutes our vital root.
At the same time, here we have the unique opportunity to get to know each other and learn to respect each other and to walk together towards the kingdom of God. The world, so painfully divided, needs to see the testimony that we can be different and walk together united at the same time.
Given the particular conditions of limitations in which we all live here, we are called to daily sharing and collaboration.
We know that Pope Francis last May 13 verbally granted you jurisdiction in the Middle East, although the conditions have not yet been defined. This act is part of the great esteem of the Holy Father for the Eastern Catholic Churches.
This event is an important step not only for you but for all our faithful. In fact, we are called to live as one Body. Christ has united us to himself and among ourselves forever and has called us to be part of his mystical body, with different gifts and ministries; we are called to be the one and holy Church, the Bride of Christ, the holy and faithful People of God.
Only united can we be missionaries and bring to everyone the joy of the Gospel in the third Millennium.
Thank you again for your precious and strong testimony of faith and for your assiduous commitment in the life of the Church and in society.
May the Lord bless you always
[A greeting in Malayalam]
