Pope Benedict XVI is sending a delegation of top Vatican officials, including New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, to Damascus to express solidarity with the Syrian people suffering in their country’s civil war.
The Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said yesterday the delegation would travel to Syria next week if arrangements can be made.
Bertone said church leaders “cannot be simple spectators” given the “immense” suffering in Syria, and said they are convinced the solution must be “political.”
He added the delegation would express the Church’s “encouragement to all those involved in seeking an agreement that respects the rights and duties of all, with particular attention to the demands of humanitarian law.”
Vatican envoy to Damascus Mario Zenari has said that all sides were to blame for the chaos in the country.