Catholic World News News Feature
Pope Meets Syrian Catholic Hierarchy June 08, 2001
VATICAN, Jun 8, 01 (CWNews.com) -- On Friday, Pope John Paul II met with the bishops of the Syrian Catholic Church, who were led by Patriarch Ignace Pierre VIII.
At the private audience-- which took place after the Pope and the Patriarch concelebrated Mass-- the Holy Father said that the Eastern Christian churches will play a "fundamental role" in the future of the Middle East.
The Pope encouraged the Syrian bishops to continue their work in the field of education, saying that he hoped their efforts would be "better recognized by society." Those educational efforts could also instill in young people the fundamental principles that will help them to build a more just and peaceful world.
During his discourse, the Pope also paid tribute to the immediate predecessors of the current Syrian Patriarch of Antioch. Patriarch Mar Ignace II Antoine Hayek served the Syrian Catholic Church for 30 years before his retirement. He was succeeded by Patriarch Mar Ignace Moussa I Daoud, who resigned last year in order to take a new post as prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Eastern Churches.
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