As violence in Syria continues to escalate, the Vatican has called off sending a papal delegation there on a mission of peace.
Instead, Pope Benedict XVI has sent Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, to neighbouring Lebanon, to meet pastors and members of the various churches present in Syria.
He will visit a number of refugees from that country and will also chair a meeting of Catholic charitable agencies to co-ordinate efforts to help the Syrian people, both within and outside the country.
The Pope personally announced the cancellation of his papal mission to Syria at the end of his general audience on November 7. He said he continued to follow with great concern the “tragic situation of violent conflict” and “untold suffering of many civilians” in the country.
“As I make my prayer to God,” he said, “I renew my invitation to the parties in conflict, and to all those who have the good of Syria at heart, to spare no effort in the search for peace and to pursue through dialogue the path to a just coexistence, in view of a suitable political solution of the conflict.
“It is never too late to work for peace!”
The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr Federico Lombardi, also announced that a donation of $NZ1.2 million given by the recent Synod of Bishops, as well as a personal contribution from the Pope, will be made to assist relief efforts in the region.
The Pope had earlier named seven bishops, including New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, to the proposed papal mission to Syria.
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Image: Catholic Relief Services