Middle East Churches await Pope’s Lebanon visit

(August 06, 2012) The Catholic Churches of the Middle East are welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the region next month, hoping his September 14-16 visit to Lebanon will strengthen the hope of Christians, the process of Islamic-Christian dialogue and the values of justice and peace in the troubled region. The heads of the 7 Churches of the region, viz., the Maronite Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, the Chaldean Church of the East, the Coptic Church, the Latin Church in Jerusalem, the Melkite Church and the Syriac Church, have each posted individual messages on their official website for the Pope’s Lebanese visit. Speaking on behalf of all the bishops of the Middle East, Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem, the President of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (AOCTS) and well as President of the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Region (CELRA), expressed gratitude to the Pope for his closeness with the people of the Middle east that is experiencing radical events. He said that the papal visit to present them with the Apostolic Exhortation of the Special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East held in the Vatican in Oct 2010, will encourage the Christians of the land to be a sign of communion and witness in the region and throughout the world. Patriarch Twal noted the Middle East was going difficult conditions and they feel the need to hear the Pope’s voice, teaching, prayer and his closeness with them. “We hope your visit to Lebanon and the words that you will address to the Middle East and the international community will strengthen the hope of Christians, the process of Islamic-Christian dialogue and the values of justice and peace,” Patriarch Twal wrote.