Pope: 2010 Middle East Synod
Monday 21 Sep 2009
IRVINE, CA (BMS) - Vatican sources are saying that Pope Benedict XVI is preparing to convene a Synod of Bishops for the Middle East to address the trials and tribulations of the Christian population in the region. It is expected to be held in October, 2010.
The Pope met with Patriarchs and other representatives from Eastern churches in Rome last week to discuss the initiative. They included the Chaldean patriarch, Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad, Iraq; Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem; the Lebanon-based Maronite patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir; and representatives of the Ukrainian, Syro-Malabar, Coptic, Melkite, Syrian, Armenian, Romanian and Syro-Malankar rites. Last January, Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, Iraq, and other Iraqi bishops in Rome for their "ad limina" visits asked the Pope to convene a special synod for the churches of the Middle East.
