In the third instalment of AsiaNews’ report from the Gulf, Monsignor Bernardi reflects on the richness each person brings to the celebrations of Catholic communities composed of people from many different backgrounds. There are numerous challenges: from internal disputes among the Syro-Malabars to the need for formation that prevents faith from slipping into mere devotionalism. Local and universal jubilees are experienced with “dynamism and creativity”.
AsiaNews met the prelate in Awali, at the headquarters of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, during a reportage in the Gulf countries. There are many challenges for a Church that is ‘growing’, from the catacombs in Saudi Arabia to the repercussions of the war between Israel and Hamas in the region. The solidarity of the population, close to the suffering of the inhabitants of the Strip.
After Israeli jets and drones struck Hamas officials who were in Qatar yesterday to discuss the truce and the release of hostages, the outcome of the attack, which left at least six dead, remains uncertain. For Bishop Berardi, the operation was a surprise, but Qatari leaders are sending signals that things are normal. Through letters and money, the children of the vicariate are expressing their solidarity with their peers in Gaza.
Women who acquired nationality through marriage particularly affected. Ordinary workers, entrepreneurs, and celebrities—including singers and actors—also targeted. Human rights activists and organisations express concern. In March, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah pledged to ‘cleanse Kuwait of impurities’ and return the nation to its ‘original people’.
Bishop Berardi recounts Holy Week among Catholics in the Gulf, a ‘unique’ reality due to the multitude of rituals and languages. Expatriates in Saudi Arabia use the internet and television to follow the celebrations. Prayers for peace in the Holy Land, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. The meaning of the mission, which is ‘first and foremost personal conversion’.
The Major Archbishop visiting communities in the region. After a first stop in the northern vicariate, the second in the south between Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Apostolic vicar Msgr. Martinelli: ‘Collaboration “virtue” of the Gulf Church’. Among the unresolved knots mentioned by the prelate is ‘jurisdiction in the Middle East, even if the modalities have not yet been defined’.
