Vatican City, Oct 23, 2012 / 14:47 pm
The Vatican Secretary of State told the synod on the New Evangelization that the planned peace mission to Syria will still happen but has been postponed following flare-ups in violence.
"Given the gravity of the situation, the visit will be postponed, probably until after the conclusion of the Synod, and the composition of the delegation will be modified, also due to other commitments on the part of its members," Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Oct. 23 at the synod.
Cardinal Bertone originally announced the papal delegation at an Oct. 16 session of the synod. It was scheduled to embark this week, ahead of the synod's conclusion on Oct. 28.
The most recent outbreak of violence happened Oct. 21 when a car bomb killed 13 persons in Bab Touma, the district of Damascus mainly inhabited by Christians.