Arabic makes a debut as a language of the Vatican
By REUTERS
10/10/2012 14:29
Pope Benedict adds Arabic as an official language as part of Vatican attempt to reach out to Christians, Muslims.
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he gives Urbi et Orbi Photo: REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
VATICAN CITY - Arabic made its debut as one of the official
languages at Pope Benedict's weekly general audiences on Wednesday as part of a
Vatican attempt to reach out more to Christians and Muslims in the Middle
East.
The Vatican is concerned about the exodus from the Middle East of
Christians, many of whom leave because they fear for their safety. Christians
now comprise five percent of the population of the region, down from 20 percent
a century ago.
According to some estimates, the current population of 12
million Christians in the Middle East could halve by 2020 if security and birth
rates continue to decline.
Vatican officials said that speaking Arabic
during the audiences, which are broadcast live on television and radio across
the world, would send a comforting word to Christians in a region which is home
to many Christian holy places.
They also hope the pope addressing Muslims
directly could improve sometimes strained relations with Islam.
A priest
read a summary of the pope's Italian language weekly address in Arabic for the
first time, joining other briefs in French, English, German, Spanish,
Portuguese, Slovak, Czech, Polish, Hungarian and Russian during the audience in
front of thousands of people in St Peter's Square.
After the address,
which dealt with the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, the pope
said in Arabic: "The pope prays for all people who speak Arabic. May God bless
you all." The Vatican said the addition was made to show the pontiff's concern
for Christians in the Middle East and to remind both Muslims and Christians to
work for peace in the region.
A Vatican statement said the leader of the
world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics wanted to continue the spirit of his trip to
Lebanon last month.
During the trip, the pope made many appeals to both
Christians and Muslims to work for an end to the conflict in neighboring Syria
and for peace in the entire region.
In 2006 the pope gave a speech in
Regensburg which was perceived by some Muslims as an attack on Islam. The pope
said he was misunderstood and later visited a mosque in Turkey and prayed with
an imam.