Paphos, Cyrpus, Jun 4, 2010 / 08:39 am
Upon arrival to the Paphos airport in Cyprus, the Holy Father greeted the people of the nation and explained his purpose for the journey. He reflected on the scope of the coming Synod for the Middle East and hoped for the inspiration of Cypriots in their quest for a peaceful resolution to the division of their island nation.
The Holy Father’s visit is the first of any Pope to the Mediterranean island and will take place over the course of the next three days. The highlight of the trip is the consignment of the “instrumentum laboris,” or working document, for the coming Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops in October.
“As the Successor of Peter,” he said from the airport, “I come in a special way to greet the Catholics of Cyprus, to confirm them in the faith and to encourage them to be both exemplary Christians and exemplary citizens, and to play a full role in society, to the benefit of both Church and state.”
Arriving among the people of Cyprus as “a pilgrim and the servant of the servants of God,” Pope Benedict first greeted His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, Orthodox Archbishop of Nea Justiniana and All Cyprus and a “brother in the faith” and then anticipated some of the moments of the coming days.