ACN says farewell to Pope Francis
“Pope Francis was the pontiff for the people on the edges of society and a tireless fighter for religious freedom and oppressed Christians. That is how we remember him, and we trust that we now have another advocate in heaven for our work.” So spoke the Executive President of the Pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Regina Lynch, on the passing of Pope Francis, who died on April 21st at the age of 88.
“I met Pope Francis many times, and he again and again showed his goodwill towards our work,” said Lynch, who in particular remembers a trip to Iraq in March 2021, when she represented the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), as part of the Pope’s delegation. While there, he visited the Nineveh Plains, where ACN has rebuilt many Christian homes, churches and monasteries. “In the airplane I had the opportunity to speak with Pope Francis. He thanked ACN and the benefactors very much for all that we do for the Christians in the Middle East, and worldwide. He has expressed the same sentiment on other occasions,” the charity’s executive president emphasized.
In 2016, a personal gift from Pope Francis supported medical provision for Christians displaced from the Nineveh Plains, who had found refuge in the autonomous region of Kurdistan. Also in 2016, Pope Francis received a delegation from ACN and sent a spontaneous video greeting to the benefactors for the Holy Year of Mercy, in which he said: “I invite you all, with ACN, all across the world, to do works of mercy, lasting works of mercy.”
Gestures of Humour and Warmth
In 2017, Pope Francis signed a donated Lamborghini and let it be auctioned. A third of the proceeds went to ACN, with a request to support projects for Christians in Iraq. “Actions like this underline the Pope’s subtle humour, for which so many people loved him,” said Lynch.
During a Sunday Angelus in 2018, in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis lit a candle which had been made by ACN’s project partners in Syria, thereby showing his support for the charity’s Advent campaign: Candles for Peace in Syria. “May these flames of hope drive out the darkness of war,” said the Pope at the time. “Let us pray, and help the Christians to remain witnesses of mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation in the Middle East.”
Spiritual Closeness to Oppressed Christians
In August and September 2019, Pope Francis received further delegations from ACN. He blessed 6,000 rosaries and an icon—part of a pastoral initiative of ACN together with local churches in Syria to bring comfort to the bereaved relatives of war victims. After blessing the rosaries on 15 August, Pope Francis invited the then-executive president, Thomas Heine-Geldern, to join him at the window of the apostolic palace for the Angelus and once again called for prayer for Syria.
The pontiff twice received women from Nigeria who had been abducted and abused by the terrorist group Boko Haram. ACN had supported their trauma care and invited them to Europe to give witness to what happened to them.
“In countless speeches, Pope Francis took a stance for persecuted Christians, for human rights and religious freedom. Each of these statements, each prayer, each attentive gesture comforted our project partners and gave them back their dignity. For this we are eternally grateful,” said Lynch.
Pope Francis also spoke unflinchingly about a “polite”, hidden discrimination towards Christians, which is spreading more and more in the West, said ACN’s executive president. “We are grateful to the Holy Father for this brave analysis. It should stir us to protect common values which are sacred to believers of all religions.”
Pope of Dialogue
The many efforts of Pope Francis in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue are also not to be forgotten. An expression of this is, for example, the Abu Dhabi Document on Human Fraternity produced with Muslim religious leaders. “For our project partners in the Middle East and Africa, this dialogue expresses an ardent wish and a necessity to stand together against intolerance and fundamentalism, and to achieve religious freedom for all people. Pope Francis has set the standard here,” said Lynch.
This is also true for the meeting of Pope Francis with the Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, during his 2021 trip to Iraq. “This courageous gesture has brought more attention to the Christian minority in Iraq and was an important step towards equal rights—even though this goal is still far from being achieved.”
In 2017, the meeting in Cuba between Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and their common declaration brought international attention. “Even though this dialogue has experienced severe setbacks as a result of the war in Ukraine, the door must remain open,” said ACN’s president. “So many Christians died under Communism for the common faith. After the latest events, reconciliation is certainly a long journey, but it is a task that Jesus gave us.”
Evangelization and Prayer
There have been many touchpoints between ACN and the deceased pope, not just in his commitment to religious freedom and persecuted Christians, but also in his commitment to evangelization and prayer. For example, Pope Francis several times expressed his support for the international “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” campaign, which ACN coordinates every year. For example, in October 2021, in St. Peter’s Square, he said: “On 18 October the foundation Aid to the Church in Need organised the campaign One Million Children Praying the Rosary for unity and peace. I encourage people to join in this beautiful event, in which children all over the world are involved.”
Back in 2018, he wrote the forward to YOUCAT for kids, a book to help children understand the Faith. Recently he also wrote the forward to the next YOUCAT publication, “Love forever”, which is about love and marriage. In it, Pope Francis speaks about the tango, the traditional dance of his country, Argentina, and reminds people of the meaning of Amoris Laetitia. “He encourages young people to believe in the adventure of an eternal love and speaks about a dance of hope. We hope that he is now enjoying the fullness of this love in which he so firmly believed,” said Lynch.
“ACN mourns a messenger of dialogue, encounter and mercy. May God reward him for his faithful service. We will continue the mission of Pope Francis, who on his travels often put the ‘people of the margins’ in the centre, and as a pontifical foundation we make ourselves available to the future Holy Father, as we have done since the beginning of our work.”
Pray for Pope Francis and give thanks for his life of service to the Lord.
