THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Pope has claimed that the international community is ignoring the plight of Christians in the Middle East.
A working paper released during Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Cyprus to prepare for a crisis summit of Middle East bishops in Rome in October also cites the "extremist current" unleashed by the rise of "political Islam" as a threat to Christians.
In his final Mass in Cyprus on Sunday, the pontiff said he was praying that the October meeting will focus the attention of the international community "on the plight of those Christians in the Middle East who suffer for their beliefs."
He appealed for an "urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, before such conflicts lead to greater bloodshed."
The Vatican considers mostly Greek Orthodox Cyprus as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East and invited bishops to come to the Mediterranean island to receive the working paper.
The pope said Cyprus can "play a particular role in promoting dialogue and co-operation" in the region.
Cyprus was ethnically split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent republic in the north in 1983, but only Turkey recognises it, and it maintains 35,000 troops there.
The island's Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and newly-elected Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu resumed long-running reunification talks in May after a two-month pause for the poll. The talks have yielded only limited progress so far.
The pope said he saw for himself the "sad division of the island" and that he was "deeply moved" by the pleas of Cypriots who wished to return to homes in the north that were lost during the war. >>> | Sunday, June 06, 2010
