Lamenting the dwindling number of Christians in the Middle East, the region’s Catholic bishops called for greater religious freedom in Muslim countries, denounced Islamic fundamentalism, and criticized Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinian territories.
The statements came in a document, released at the Vatican on Tuesday (Jan. 19), laying out topics of discussion for a special synod of Middle Eastern bishops, to take place at the Vatican in October.
Written by a committee of bishops, most of them members of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome, the document noted the exodus of Christians from the Middle East over the last century, and especially in recent years.
Read it all.
RNS: Middle East Bishops Lament Exodus of Christians
Lamenting the dwindling number of Christians in the Middle East, the region’s Catholic bishops called for greater religious freedom in Muslim countries, denounced Islamic fundamentalism, and criticized Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinian territories.
The statements came in a document, released at the Vatican on Tuesday (Jan. 19), laying out topics of discussion for a special synod of Middle Eastern bishops, to take place at the Vatican in October.
Written by a committee of bishops, most of them members of the Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome, the document noted the exodus of Christians from the Middle East over the last century, and especially in recent years.
Read it all.