Pope praises prayerful solidarity with persecuted Christians

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians are called to be close to their brothers and sisters in the faith, especially to those who are wounded by "injustice, abuse, hatred," Pope Francis said.

"The whole of humanity, now more than ever, needs the good news of peace, and every Christian is called to announce and share it," he wrote in a letter to the "Nazarat" committee, an Italian organization that supports and prays for persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

After Christians were expelled from Iraq's Nineveh Plain by the Islamic State in 2014, a group in Rimini, Italy, began gathering to pray together for persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Nearly 10 years later, the group continues to pray the Rosary together in Rimini's central square on the 20th of each month, and the movement has spread to other cities throughout Italy.

"With particular attention toward the many brothers and sisters who live in lands struck by terrible conflict, I wanted to join myself to the joy experienced over the course of 10 years from the birth of this Marian prayer initiative," Pope Francis wrote to organization's coordinator.

The pope's letter was initially published on the group's Facebook page and its contents were later published by Vatican News Aug. 16.

In the letter, he prayed that "those who adhere to the moments of prayer, with ardent hearts filled by the Spirit, continue to be promoters of a culture of respect toward all, of welcome and of an inclusive fraternity where each person may taste the bread of communion and the happiness of solidarity."

Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan of Antioch also wrote the group to express his gratitude for their "solidarity and sincere compassion for your brothers and sisters persecuted to the point of martyrdom for Jesus' sake," Vatican News reported.

In another message to the "Nazarat" committee, Franciscan Father Bahjat Elia Karakach, parish priest of the Latin Catholic community of Aleppo, Syria, explained the widespread "indifference and complicit silence" of local leaders regarding Christian persecution, Vatican News reported. The Franciscan said the local church's efforts primarily consist of "encouraging young people to stay in our country and be proactive in contributing to its resurgence."

Beginning on the night of Aug. 6, 2014, a raid by Islamic State soldiers forced some 120,000 Christians to leave their settlements in the Ninevah Plain. The "Nazarat" committee began their monthly prayer for persecuted Christians in the Middle East the following Aug. 20, taking their name from the Islamic State soldiers' practice of marking the homes of Christians with the letter "N," for "Nazarat," which means Christian.