Damascus (AsiaNews) Pope John Paul II was a new 'Baptist', "the living and daring conscience of the world", wrote Gregorius III Lahham, Greek Melkite Patriarch of Damascus, in a letter to the faithful before leaving for the Pope's funeral in Rome
For him, the Pontiff was a "new John the Baptist" because like the original one he was "a voice who cried in the desert to prepare the ways of the Lord; he wiped hypocrisy and sin before our Risen Lord".
"John Paul II", the Patriarch writes, "had a lively, bold and courageous spirit, that persevered in the cause of the Gospel".
His spirit and teachings are very much relevant today and have been expressed in an "intrepid defence of human rights and the right to life from conception till death".
Gregorius III ended his message recalling the Pope's historic visit to Damascus. He visited the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, where according to tradition John the Baptist is buried, but above all he "sparked in each one of us a spiritual renewal" that included "a strong appeal to Eastern Christians" to assume "their responsibilities in Arab and Islamic countries" and become "leaven and light". The Pope urged "us to live in peace with our neighbours and bring them "the cause of the Gospel". He also told us to help "the poor, the needy, the refugees and the persecuted". (JI)