Jerusalem Patriarch meets with Pope on Mideast Situation

(15,11.2011) Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Foaud Twal, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem met in a private audience, Thursday and discussed the "fear of the Christians in Egypt" as well as the problems of emigration, "the freedom of movement of Christians," and the question of Syria. They also discussed the Pope's desire that the region’s bishops prepare themselves for the upcoming Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland, and next year's synod on the new evangelization. The Patriarch was among several Bishops of the region completing a three-day conference of the Bishops of the Middle East at the Vatican. Speaking to Vatican Radio after his meeting with the Pope, he said "I think it is always good to be together, to pray together, to listen together." "Each bishop came here with his problems and his hopes and his aspirations" for his "country and Church," he said, adding that "they have something in common in all the Middle East,".