The Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia calls on believers of all faiths to pray “so that the roar of missiles may cease” and that the people of the Middle East may live in communion, highlighting the spiritual context in which the conflict has erupted.
By Linda Bordoni
“In these difficult days marked by the pain and uncertainty of war”, Bishop Aldo Berardi addressed the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain, its monarchy, members of the Government, citizens and all its residents, with words of encouragement and hope.
Speaking on behalf of the entire Catholic Christian community he represents, the Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia released a statement on March 5, noting that the war has broken out as Christians and Muslims observe their respective seasons of spiritual devotion and penance.
War amid Ramadan and Lent
“The outbreak of this war has found us all, both the Muslim and the Christian communities, in a particularly important religious season for each: the holy month of Ramadan and the great forty‑day fast of Lent, respectively,” the bishop said in a statement.
He went on to express his belief that “these two sacred times, not by coincidence but by divine providence, began on the same day this year: February 18.”
Bishop Berardi thus reminded Muslims and Christians that they began their journey together, noting that the war makes “the fragility of our lives, the transcience of our existence on this earth” even more evident, and this, he continued, highlights the need “to turn wholeheartedly to God, fasting and repenting for our faults and for the sins of the world.”
United in the search for peace
“May this journey of Ramadan and Lent, which we have begun together, unite us also in these difficult moments marked by conflict, working tirelessly in the search for paths that lead to peace, with the desire to return to times of serenity, both for the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain in particular and the entire Middle East region,” he appealed.
The Apostolic Vicar went on to encourage fasting and “constant and sincere prayer” so we may intercede before the one God for the restoration of peace, and for consolation for all those bereaved or affected by this conflict.
Let us be peacemakers
“Let us be peacemakers”, he concluded, and “let us ask God to inspire paths of unity so that the roar of missiles may cease and we may, once and for all, live in communion in a land – the Middle East – so often marked, unfortunately, by division.”
A Church present in the Gulf
The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia serves Catholics living in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where the Catholic presence is largely composed of migrant workers from Asia, Africa and other regions.
