Pope approves election of new head of Lebanon-based Syrian Catholic Church

(January 23, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday approved the election of the new head of the Lebanon-based Syrian Catholic Church. 64-year old Bishop Ignace Youssif III Younan of Newark, who was in charge of Syrian Catholics in the US and Canada, was elected Patriarch of Antioch by the Synod of the bishops of the Syrian Catholic Church, held in Rome, Jan 18 to 20. The synod was summoned by Pope Benedict after last Patriarch of Antioch, Ignace Pierre VIII Abdel-Ahad, retired in February 2008 at the age of 77. Meeting the synod bishops on Friday along with their new Patriarch, Pope Benedict urged them to be sowers of peace in the Holy Land, Iraq and Lebanon, where, he said, the Syrian church has a highly appreciated historical presence. He urged the Christian communities to continue to live and witness to their faith, as they have done down the centuries. At the same time the Holy Father wished that all those who are elsewhere be able to receive adequate pastoral care in order to be able to be linked to their religious roots in a fruitful way. Pope Benedict prayed that every eastern-rite community be able to integrate itself in its new social and ecclesial context without losing its identity, and thus be able to blend the east and the west so that the Church is able to speak more effectively to contemporary man. Thus, he said, Christians will be able to face the urgent challenges of humanity, build peace and universal solidarity and witness to the great hope that is in them. According to Catholic Church law for eastern rite churches, the synod of bishops elect their own bishops and heads whom the Pope formally acknowledges.