Editor's Report

Prayers for Peace in Middle East at Manhattan Church

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Catholics and other members of the public are invited to join in an ecumenical prayer service for peace in the Middle East—led by Cardinal Dolan and featuring as a special guest of honor, Patriarch Bechara Peter Cardinal Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East—at Holy Family Church, 315 E. 47th St. in Manhattan, on Monday, June 27, at 6 p.m.

Just two months ago, Cardinal Dolan, who serves as chairman of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, led a delegation of U.S. Catholic leaders on a pastoral visit to Iraqi Kurdistan, where he prayed with and heard the stories of Christians who had been displaced from other areas of Iraq by ISIS. Since his return, he has kept a spotlight on the region through his Catholic New York columns and his Catholic Channel program on Sirius XM satellite radio.

Writing in CNY the week of his trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, the cardinal explained why he decided to visit after being invited by his brother bishops there. “The Christian community there is family, a family in a lot of trouble, with much adversity, and to visit them is a very good thing,” the cardinal wrote. “They have asked, ‘Does anyone know of our plight? Have people forgotten us?’”

The patriarch will be touring Maronite churches on a pastoral visit to the United States in late June before presiding at the annual Convention of the National Apostolate of Maronites July 5-10 in San Francisco.

The patriarch is head of the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic Church that is in full communion with Rome. About 85,000 Maronite Catholics worship in Maronite communities in the United States.

Cardinal Dolan is hosting Solemn Evening Prayer along with Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Eparchy of St. Maron, which is headquartered in Brooklyn. Bishop Mansour, via an email interview, spoke about the participation of Patriarch Rai in the New York prayer service. The patriarch is also scheduled to hold a press conference earlier that day at the offices of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency for humanitarian and pastoral support, in the New York Catholic Center in Manhattan.

“To have the head of the largest Catholic Church in the Middle East is a tremendous opportunity for us to see what we can do to support him and all those who work every day to assist the poor, to make peace and to heal wounds,” the bishop explained.

Patriarch Rai, a native of Hemlaya, Lebanon, was elected as patriarch in 2011. He was created a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

Despite the dire circumstances faced by Christians in the Middle East, due to continuing persecution from ISIS and other groups, Bishop Mansour is encouraged by the outreach in prayer, especially joining with other Christians.

“The Middle East seems impossible to help right now,” the bishop said. “Prayer helps make possible what seems impossible.”

Raising awareness and concern for the needs of Christians and other people of faith in the Middle East is a major reason for the patriarch’s visit, Bishop Mansour said. Archbishop Paul Sayah, who serves as the patriarch’s vicar general, is also expected to participate in the prayer service and Bishop Mansour expects several ecumenical leaders to join them.

Holy Family was chosen as the site of the prayer service because of its designation as the U.N. Church and its proximity to the world body. The Holy See mission to the United Nations will be represented, and U.N. ambassadors have been invited to attend the service.

Almost exactly a year ago, Cardinal Dolan led a Solemn Evening Prayer Service at the church in remembrance of the Christian martyrs of Africa. Organized by the archdiocesan Office of Black Ministry, it took place on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul on June 29.

Participating groups and offices at the prayer service for the Middle East include CNEWA, Aid to the Church in Need in Brooklyn and the archdiocesan office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. The bishops of the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre have also been invited to attend.

The prayer service is open to Catholics and other members of the public. Responses are being accepted at https://archnyprayforpeace.eventbrite.com.

The plight of Middle East Christians has received much more attention in the United States over the past year. We have seen Christians pushed from their ancestral lands, in many cases under threat of imminent death. We should always support our brothers and sisters with our private prayers and financial contributions for their well-being. The June 27 service is a good opportunity to join together with other like-minded people to lift up our fellow Christians in prayer and show that we are all members of the same body.