Benedict XVI: Apostolic Exhortation in detail

In the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Benedict XVI says Christians in the Middle East need to rediscover the essential aspects of faith, forgiveness prevails over revenge, service over domination and love over hate, the role of women, the value of celibacy, and Christian unity against religious intolerance.              
In the document, Benedict XVI condemned the fact that in the Middle East it seems Cain’s crimes know no limits, recalling the tragic deaths that have come as a result of human blindness, fear and humiliation.              

In the Apostolic Exhortation, signed in Harissa, the Pope asked political and religious leaders not only to alleviate the suffering of all those living in the Middle East, but to eliminate the causes, doing all that they can to achieve peace.            

"God does not like lukewarm gestures", the Pope said, urging Catholics and others to therefore bear testimony to Christ in a unified and courageous manner, which is not an easy task, he recognized.              

The Pope condemned the fact that religious differences between Christians, Jews and Muslims but also between different denominations within each faith are used as a pretext to justify acts of intolerance, discrimination, marginalization and persecution, in the name of religion.             

The Pope called for forgiveness in people’s private lives and in community life. He pointed out that Jews, Christians and Muslims believe in one God, expressing the hope that they would see each other as brothers, showing love and respect for one another, whilst avoiding the use of religion as a pretext for conflicts that are unjustifiable for true believers.           

Referring in particular to the dialogue between Christians and Jews, the Pope recalled the spiritual heritage they share, based on the Bible, which reveals the Jewish roots of Christianity.           

The Pope then went on to discuss secularism, which he described as the extreme form of laicism. Secularism, he said, seeks to exclude all manifestations of religiosity; he defended the “healthy secularism” that distinguishes between civil and religious authority, protecting the people from religious fundamentalism.           
Benedict XVI did not fail to make reference to the Word of God. He spoke of the Middle East as a biblical place of encounters with God for pilgrims. He proposed efforts to publicize the Bible in the media, celebrate a year of the Bible, and a special week on the Bible. He also called for people to be able to freely visit the holy places and for different churches in the Middle East to present an ecumenical effort to recognize the baptism, confession and anointing of the sick and help Christians who come to the region.


For the full Apostolic Exhortation please click on this link