Nicosia, Cyprus, Jun 6, 2010 / 09:08 am
The Instrumentum laboris, consigned to participants in October's Special Assembly for the Middle East by Pope Benedict XVI, addresses concerns of a decrease in Christian presence in the region, the "vital" nature of Muslim-Christian relations and the need to maintain cohesion between the Churches of the Middle East.
It also insists that the Churches defend their place in the region.
Patriarchs and bishops of the Middle Eastern Churches were on hand in Nicosia, Cyprus on Sunday morning to receive the Instrumentum laboris, or working document, directly from the Pope.
Among other elements the document proposes about the current situation in the Middle East, tradition as a "source of richness" is highlighted as is the importance of the existence of a Christian influence in the region. Their disappearance would be a "great loss" to all people in the Middle East, reads the document, and "here lies the 'grave responsibility'... to maintain the Christian faith in these holy lands."