Beirut (Agenzia Fides) - The Council of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs will meet before August 15th in Dimane, Lebanon, at the patriarchal summer home of the Maronite Patriarch, to focus on the complex situation of indigenous Christian communities in much of the Middle East. In recent years, the body that gathers all the Primates of the Eastern Catholic Churches present in that area of the world could not gather also because of the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
The summit should begin on 10 August, while Lebanese media announce that on the first day participants should be received by Lebanese President Michel Aoun. The agenda is closely linked to the pastoral problems and to the political and social emergencies that are increasingly tormenting the indigenous Eastern Catholic communities, which in some countries in the Middle East have registered a drastic decline in the number of their faithful. Patriarch Youssef Absi, will attend the meeting for the first time as new Primate of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church, and also Orthodox Patriarchs and representatives of Christian Churches and Communities should also be present. (GV) Agenzia Fides, 29/7/2017)
Source: fides.org
