Pope reaches out to Catholics in majority-Muslim Lebanon

Pope Benedict XVI’s 3-day visit to Lebanon will demand a papal high-wire act in a Middle East country riven by sectarian tensions as fighting rages next door in Syria. The 85-year-old pontiff, who has spent much of the year battling a leaks scandal at the Vatican, faces a packed schedule in the majority-Muslim country. Religious pluralism and the welfare of Christians in the Middle East is likely to top the agenda, as well as calls for an end to the conflict in Syria. The pope will reach out to the 13 million or more Catholics in the Middle East, asking them to work for peace and democracy alongside moderate Islamists, particularly in a period fraught with fears of a rise of fundamentalism. He will also tackle concern over the exodus of Christians from the region during a presentation of results from the 2010 synod with Middle East bishops.

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