Francis backs Middle East Christians

Pope Francis has renewed his appeal for an end to division and hatred in the Middle East, urging the Christian community to forge creative ways to build peace, writes Robert Mickens.

“[May] our creative imagination in charity lead us to this – to find and make paths of encounter, paths of fellowship, paths of peace,” he said at concelebrated Mass on Monday with Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, head of the Coptic Catholic Church of Alexandria (Egypt).

Francis expressed concern for the security of Egyptian Christians, while making a fresh call for religious liberty for all in the Middle East. “We await you in Egypt,” Patriarch Sidrak told Pope Francis.

The Vatican has made “significant progress” towards bringing its financial laws and procedures into full compliance with international regulatory standards, according to a progress report that was to be published on Thursday by Moneyval, the  Council of Europe financial watchdog.