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.