Report: Pope to Stress in Lebanon that Christians, Muslims Face Similar Fate

The presidency and the Maronite patriarchate in Bkirki are expected to issue separate statements on the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon during which the head of the Roman Catholic Church will emphasize that the fate of Christians and Muslims are intertwined.

Highly informed sources told As Safir newspaper on Thursday that the statements will be issued on Sunday to announce the pope’s visit to Lebanon in mid-September and his major stops, including a mass that will be held in downtown Beirut.

Benedict will make a historic speech at Baabda Palace about the Vatican’s viewpoint on the situation of Christians in Lebanon and the east, including their ties with other religions, the sources said.

The pope has expressed increasing concern about the plight of Christians in the Middle East.

He is expected to visit the spiritual leaders of different sects in Lebanon, in an unprecedented initiative, and address Muslims through the apostolic exhortation, which represents the conclusion of a Middle Eastern synod in 2010 that emphasized the defense of Christian minorities in the region.

Benedict “will personally hand over copies of the apostolic exhortation to the spiritual leaders to show them that relations of fate and life between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East are interlinked,” the sources told As Safir.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati invited the pope during a November audience at the Vatican.