"Carry each other’s burdens" was the title of the message which the Council of Christian Churches in France (CECEF) addressed believers just before the Passion celebrations. The document, bearing the signatures of the president and the two vice presidents of CECEF, the Greek Orthodox metropolitan and president of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France, Emmanuel, respectively, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris and president of the French Bishops’ Conference, and Pastor Claude Baty, president of the Protestant Federation of France, includes the hope that "though celebrating Lent and Easter in different times, our Churches will remain together in prayer as well as local and universal brotherhood, to show the reality of Christ’s solidarity in adversities". The thought of CECEF, in particular, was meant for "the minorities in the Middle East and Africa", often "threatened, sometimes persecuted or forced to exile in unbearable conditions". Thus, there was the invitation "to the Churches of France to strengthen their support through prayer", in particular, "for peace and freedom of conscience and worship", and "through these concrete gestures of solidarity, which may encourage those who suffer because of their faith".
