Benedict XVI received Emmanuel III Delly, the Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans, together with bishops who participated in the special Synod of Chaldean Bishops. The importance of reform of the liturgy was highlighted.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) Benedict XVI expressed "fervent encouragement" for "all citizens of Iraq" and gave assurance of his prayers "so that your beloved country, despite its current difficult situation, will not lose its soul and proceed along the path towards peace and reconciliation".
The Pope was speaking during an audience granted to bishops who participated in the Special Synod for Chaldean Bishops in Rome.
Delivering his greeting, Benedict XVI drew attention to the completion of the "project of revision of texts of Divine Liturgy in the Syro-Oriental rite" to implement reform which "would allow for a new impetus for devotion in your communities. This work entailed years of study and decisions not always easy to take, but it was a time during which the Chaldean Church could reflect more in depth on the great gift of the Eucharist. Another important sphere on which you concentrated your attention was the analysis of a bill of Particular Law, which should regulate the internal life of your communities. An appropriate canonical discipline is necessary for an ordered undertaking of the mission entrusted by Christ. In the spirit of the Synod which characterizes the government of the Chaldean Church, you have experienced a period of intense communion, having always before you the supreme good of the salus animarum.
"Now, returning to your respective seats, you are reinvigorated by this experience of communion lived alongside the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. It is a communion which funds particular expression here, today, in
lifting up to the Lord, together with the Successor of Peter, a common prayer of thanksgiving. I exhort you, dear ones, to persevere in your pastoral commitment and in your ministry of hope for your entire Iraqi nation."