Syriac Patriarch Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan meets Catholic Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald to discuss situation of Christians in the East

BETH BKERKE, Lebanon – Syriac Catholic Patriarch Mor Ignatius III Joseph Younan met with Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald and discussed the situation of Christians in the East and the crises facing the Christian presence, especially in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and the role of the Church in supporting and stabilizing Christian communities their homelands.

Mor Ignatius Joseph III Younan received the former papal ambassador to Egypt and specialist in Christian relations Cardinal Fitzgerald, accompanied by Caritas Britain president Bishop John Arnold at the Syriac Maronite Patriarchal headquarters in Beth Kerke.

During their meeting, the Patriarch and Cardinal discussed the history of the Syriac Catholic Church of Antioch, i.e., contemporary Antakya in Turkey, and its current situation in eastern and western countries, as well as its current situation in the Middle East in which its Syriac faithful face many crises. They also discussed the Church’s role in supporting its spiritual children and standing by them in the face of these crises and difficult circumstances so that they remain loyal and committed to their homelands.

Cardinal Michael expressed his full solidarity with the Christians of the East, and his quest to explain their lived reality to official institutions in Britain and the rest of the countries.

The overall majority of Christians in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon is Syriac.