Friday, November 16, 2012

Rai thanks Pope for solidarity with Lebanon, Syria

In this Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 file photo, Pope Benedict XVI, right, greets Patriarch Beshara Rai during a mass on the waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)Lebanon’s Cardinal Beshara Rai thanked Pope Benedict XVI for his solidarity with Lebanon and Syria amid the difficult circumstances both countries are witnessing, the National News Agency reported.

“We thank the pope for sending an envoy to Lebanon and for expressing solidarity with the Syrian people in the ongoing conflict in their country,” said Rai during Sunday Mass.

Earlier this week, the pope called for peace in Syria but admitted that a planned visit by a Vatican delegation to the conflict-torn country would not go ahead because of conditions in Syria.

The pontiff meanwhile, dispatched an envoy, Cardinal Robert Sarah, to Lebanon to discuss the crisis.