Pope Francis has summoned the Vatican’s Middle East experts to an urgent summit on the plight of minorities in Syria and Iraq.
The papal nuncios of Syria, Jordan-Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, Egypt and Turkey gathered at the Pope's Vatican residence on Thursday to discuss how the Church can help Christians and other groups in the region whose continued existence there is threatened by the brutal actions of Islamic State terrorists.
The jihadists, who control vast areas of Syria and Iraq, have called for an Islamic Caliphate that would stretch from to southern Spain to Kazakhstan.
Also contributing to the three-day talks were the heads of dicasteries involved in the crisis, the Permanent Observers of the Holy See at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union.
Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said Pope Francis personally convened the conference “in view of the serious situation created in the last few months in the Middle East”.
Francis attended the morning session, greeting each person and expressed his concern at “the humanitarian tragedy”, Fr Lombardi said.
Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri spoke, before the nuncios to Syria and Iraq explained how the Church is trying to tackle the suffering of refugees and internally displaced people.
In the final session of the day Cardinal Filoni was to report on his August visit to northern Iraq as the Pope's special envoy.
The meetings will continue until Saturday.
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