Pontiff Wishes to Encourage Christians of the Middle East
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 10, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Starting today, Arabic will be added to Wednesday’s General Audience, to explain Pope Benedict XVI’s words to those present in St. Peter’s Square as well as those connected through the media.
Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, director of the Holy See Press Office, said that on October 10 “a commentator will summarize in Arabic the contents of the Pope’s catechesis and will translate his greetings” to the different language groups.
The initiative is a decision of the Holy Father, “in continuity with his trip last September to Lebanon, and with the publication of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Middle East,” explained Fr. Lombardi.
The director of the Holy See Press Office also stated that “in this way the Holy Father wishes to show his continued interest in and encouragement to Christians of the Middle East, and also to remind all of the duty to pray for peace in the Middle East.”
