VATICAN CITY, NOV. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI affirmed that elevating Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, archbishop of Baghdad, to the status of cardinal was a sign of the Holy Father's solidarity with the suffering people of Iraq.
In the Pope's homily at Saturday's consistory, in which he elevated 23 men to the College of Cardinals, the Pontiff gave particular mention of the war-torn nation.
Speaking to the new cardinals, Benedict XVI said: "I now think with affection of the communities entrusted to your care and, in a special way, of those that are most tried by suffering, by challenges and difficulties of different sorts.
"Among these, how can I not turn my gaze with apprehension and affection, in this moment of joy, to the dear Christian communities of Iraq? These brothers and sisters of ours in the faith are experiencing in their own flesh the dramatic consequences of a long conflict, and are living in an ever more fragile and delicate political situation.
"Calling the patriarch of the Chaldean Church to enter into the College of Cardinals, I intended to express in a concrete way my spiritual nearness and my affection for those populations."
The Pope assured that with his brother bishops, he reaffirmed "the solidarity of the whole Church with the Christians of that beloved land." He expressed his prayer "to implore from the merciful God, for all peoples involved, the longed for coming of reconciliation and peace."
Cardinal Delly, of Babylon of the Chaldeans, spoke to L'Osservatore Romano about the Holy Father's words. "It has been an honor, not only for me, but for the whole country, for all Iraqis without distinction," the 80-year-old prelate said. "The Lord has given us the gift of intelligence to speak one to another, to dialogue, and while there is no peace, there is no security."
ZE07112505 - 2007-11-25