Pope urges Melkite Catholics to participate actively in Pauline year

Published: 2008-05-08

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With the Melkite patriarchate based in Damascus, Syria -- the destination of St. Paul when he was converted to Christianity -- Pope Benedict XVI asked Melkite Catholics to be enthusiastic participants in the upcoming Pauline year. The pope asked each Melkite Catholic, diocese and parish for "a more intimate knowledge of the person of Christ, thanks to a renewed reading of the Pauline literature." Meeting Melkite Patriarch Gregoire III Laham of Damascus, members of the Melkite bishops' synod, heads of Melkite religious orders and hundreds of pilgrims at the Vatican May 8, the pope said a renewed faith would lead to a powerful witness to the Gospel and would "guarantee a flourishing future for the Melkite church." The Melkite church is one of 22 Eastern Catholic churches. The pilgrimage was part of the Melkite church's preparations for the Pauline year, which Pope Benedict will open in late June to mark the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth.

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