Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options

Deteriorating conditions in Syria prompted Pope Benedict XVI to cancel a planned visit by a delegation of cardinals and bishops. Instead, the pope announced on Nov. 7 that he had sent a smaller group, including Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, to Lebanon to deliver a $1 million donation and boost the church’s humanitarian response to the crisis. The pope appealed for dialogue to end the conflict. “I renew my invitation to the parties in conflict,” he said, “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…. I continue to follow with great concern the tragic situation of violent conflict in Syria, where the fighting has not ceased and each day the toll of victims rises, accompanied by the untold suffering of many civilians, especially those who have been forced to abandon their homes.”

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Francis greets Professor Joseph Stiglitz at the "Debt Crisis in the Global South" meeting at the Vatican in June 2024 (Vatican Media)
An interview on economics and Catholic social teaching with Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and a professor at Columbia University.
Kevin ClarkeApril 03, 2025
Lesson one: I had to buy more stamps.
Valerie SchultzApril 03, 2025
Celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea should give new energy to evangelization efforts, a new document from the International Theological Commission says.
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell walk us through the pontiff’s recovery, including “slight improvements” in his speech.
Inside the VaticanApril 03, 2025