Vatican City, Jun 9, 2010 / 09:09 am
During today's general audience in St. Peter's Square in Rome, the Holy Father warmly recalled several aspects of his “historic” trip to Cyprus last week, saying that the “culmination” of his visit was signing the working document for the Middle Eastern Synod of Bishops. He also noted that he pleaded with Christians not to leave the Holy Land and prayed for the soul of the recently slain bishop in Turkey.
The Pope first remembered his meeting with Cypriot civil authorities and diplomatic corps on June 5, where he “reiterated the importance of founding positive law on the ethical principles of natural law in order to promote moral truth in public life.”
“This,” he explained, “was an appeal to reason based on ethical principles, full of important implications for today's society which often no longer recognizes the cultural tradition upon which it is founded.”
Visiting St. Maron primary school that same day, Pope Benedict said he was “able to witness personally the apostolic fervor of Cypriot Catholics. This is expressed through activities of education and assistance, with dozens of structures at the service of the community which are much appreciated by both the governmental authorities and by the population.”
“During that same celebration,” he added, “I was able to admire the apostolic commitment of the Latin community, guided by the solicitude of the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem and the pastoral zeal of the Friars Minor who serve the people with constant generosity.”