By Wendy Longley - Florida Catholic
Photographer: LISA BROWNE BANIC | FC
Bishop Nicholas J. Samra, of the Greek Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton, gives the final blessing after the solemn vespers service for persecuted Christians in the Middle East held at St. Andrew Church in Coral Springs.
CORAL SPRINGS | Weeks before the Paris terrorist attacks and subsequent backlash against Syrian refugees, Catholics in Broward County were praying for peace and persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
"An impression of Christians looking the other way" is how Father Miguel Gomez, pastor of San Isidro Mission in Pompano Beach, described his call to do something about the plight of persecuted Christians in Syria.
Photographer: LISA BROWNE BANIC | FC
Bishop Nicholas J. Samra, of the Greek Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton, second from right, along with Bishop Fernando Isern, emeritus of Pueblo, Colorado, bow before the altar at the start of the solemn vespers service for persecuted Christians in the Middle East held at St. Andrew Church in Coral Springs.
"I made a proposition to the deanery of northwest Broward to dedicate the month of October to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Syria,” he said.
A deanery is a geographical grouping of parishes. Father Gomez is the dean of the Northwest Broward Deanery, which includes 17 parishes, from Mary Help of Christians in Parkland to St. Bonaventure in Davie.
In order to implement his idea, Father Gomez turned to Msgr. Michael Souckar, pastor of St. Andrew in Coral Springs and a friend of Bishop Nicholas J. Samra, auxiliary bishop of the Melkite Eparchy of Newton — the diocese for Melkite Greek Catholics who are in communion with Rome.
Bishop Samra presided at a vespers service at St. Andrew Oct. 30 to mark the end of the month-long observance.
“Every parish has undertaken individual acts of prayer, penance and sacrifice over the course of the month,” explained Msgr. Souckar.
At the vespers, Bishop Samra spoke about the violence taking place in Syria and other parts of the Middle East, a region he knows very well. He presides over the Patriarchal Relief Fund, which includes an Immigration Committee whose members speak to the government about ways to bring refugee families to the United States.
The committee also helps to settle the families as they arrive into communities here where there are Christian churches. They provide relief services that include: securing an apartment, rent, schools for their children, language support, furniture, food and employment.
"We wanted Bishop Samra on board," Father Gomez said. “We wanted someone from the region who embraces more consciousness because of direct experience with the refugee families."
A couple of weeks after the vespers service, a bombing in Beirut killed from than 40 people, and a day later, Nov. 13, more than 120 were killed in coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris.
Gregorie III, patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church worldwide, expressed his sorrow at both, asking his churches to pray for the victims.
But his exasperation was evident in his brief statement after the Beirut bombings, where he appealed “to the world’s conscience, because everyone is responsible for this destructive chaos that is destroying people and stones.
“We confront the international community with its responsibilities, given this conflagration that has flared up in all our countries and our region of the Middle East, heralding further wars, acts of violence, terrorism, destruction, hatred and hostility, pitting the confessions and rites of our countries against one another!” he continued.
“We call upon the international community for greater unity and more consultation, so that we can finally bring to an end this war on our countries, communities, expertise in living together and holy land, cradle of religions.
“We pray for the repose of the souls of the victims, for the consolation of their families, and for the recovery of the injured.”
Photographer: LISA BROWNE BANIC | FC
Bishop Nicholas J. Samra, of the Greek Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton, gives a reflection during the solemn vespers service for persecuted Christians in the Middle East held at St. Andrew Church in Coral Springs.
