SW News: Pope Francis met with the members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO) thanking them for their proactive solidarity in helping those who are suffering especially in Ukraine, Turkey, Eritrea, and Iran.

ROACO members were holding their Plenary Assembly in Rome on Thursday.

The Holy Father shared his gratitude for the Eastern Churches’ efforts to help heal the wounds of the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria, amid the daily sufferings of hard-pressed people. He said it is still difficult to use normal banking systems to send aid to the victims.

The Holy Father also thanked them for their efforts in Ukraine to support internally displaced persons and refugees. He expressed his closeness of prayer and charity to the war-torn Ukrainian people.

The Pope praised the meeting's emphasis on the hopes of the young people of the Eastern Churches and urged everyone to pay close attention to their desires, both those that are expressed and those that are carried in their hearts.

He asserted that young people want to be protagonists of the common good, which should be the "compass" of social action.

The Holy Father cited Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in ‘Medio Oriente’, which urged young people to cultivate a true and lasting friendship with Jesus through the power of prayer.

ROACO brings together financing organizations from different nations to support Catholic Oriental clergy. The twenty-three Oriental or Eastern Churches are all members of the Catholic Church and in full communion with Rome.  Following the Second Vatican Council's doctrine, all churches are of equal dignity, so that none of them is superior to the others.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski is taking yet another cargo of humanitarian aid to war-struck Ukraine on behalf of the Pope. The Holy See Press Office said in a statement that this is the sixth time since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the pope is entrusting the head of the Dicastery for Charity Services with yet another evangelical mission.  The papal almoner will travel by vehicle while bringing a load of necessary medications. Along the route, he will stop at numerous religious institutions and parishes.