Pope Expresses to al-Rahi his 'Keen Interest' on Situation in Lebanon, Middle East
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi continued on Thursday his visit to the Vatican by holding talks with Pope Francis I, reported the National News Agency.
The pope expressed his “keen interest on the situation in the Middle East, especially Lebanon.”
Al-Rahi is currently on a two-week trip to the Vatican where he is taking part in the 2014 Congregation for Catholic Education.
He is scheduled to hold a second meeting with the pope next week.
An annual survey has revealed that reported cases of Christians killed for their faith rose by 77 percent in 2013 compared with a year earlier, with Syria accounting for more than the overall deaths worldwide in 2012.
Open Doors, an American-Anglo group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, placed North Korea at the top of its list of 50 most dangerous countries for Christians, a position it has held since the annual survey began 12 years ago.
It was followed by Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
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