Solidarity shown by organizations such as ROACO, he said, have helped to ensure the continued existence of the Eastern Churches at risk of extinction, and have allowed these churches to continue spreading the Gospel.
Pope Francis said the work of ROACO has also helped him to continue his mission of "pursuing possible paths to the visible unity of all Christians," and stressed that Christians who are members of Eastern Churches, though distant, "are no less loved, and certainly not forgotten."
"With your help," he said in closing, "they are always listened to and helped to continue their journey as the Church of the Risen Christ, amid every challenge, and every spiritual and material suffering, in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe."
Francis' comments on Jerusalem come after the United States on May 14 opened an embassy in the city, making the U.S. the only country to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel since the state was established in 1948.
Israel has claimed Jerusalem as its capital. However, Palestinians claim that the eastern portion of the city is the capital of the future Palestinian state.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognized by the international community, and all countries but the US have embassies in Tel Aviv. Trump's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, then, was met with fierce backlash not only from international interlocutors, but also by the Vatican.
After Trump announced the change last December, Pope Francis expressed his "deep concern" and issued an appeal to the international community to ensure that "everyone is committed to respecting the status quo of the city, in accordance with the relevant Resolutions of the United Nations."
Pope Francis also urged the necessity of maintaining the status quo in his meeting with Theophilos III, patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, in October 2017, in which the two discussed the patriarch's concern for the Christian community amid aggression by Jewish settlers.
"Any kind of violence, discrimination or displays of intolerance against Jewish, Christian and Muslim worshipers, or places of worship, must be firmly rejected," the pope said, adding that "the Holy City, whose status quo must be defended and preserved, ought to be a place where all can live together peaceably; otherwise, the endless spiral of suffering will continue for all."
Elise Harris was senior Rome correspondent for CNA from 2012 to 2018.