VATICAN CITY, APRIL 26, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed six members for the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, which will take place October 10-24 in the Vatican.
The synod’s theme is «The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness. ‘Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul’ (Acts 4: 32).»
The appointments, publicized Saturday, were:
— Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, Maronite patriarch of Antioch, Lebanon, as president delegate «ad honorem»
— Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Chaldean patriarch of Babylon, Iraq, as president delegate «ad honorem»
— Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, as president delegate
— Patriarch Ignace Youssif III Younan, patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, Lebanon, as president delegate
— Patriarch Antonios Naguib, patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts, Egypt, as relator-general
— Archbishop Joseph Soueif, Maronite archbishop of Cyprus, as special secretary.
The Pope will meet with these six appointees during his visit to Cyprus, planned for June 4-6.
On the last day of that visit, he will present the «instrumentum laboris» for the special synod on the Middle East.
