<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><h1 property="dc.title"><span class="entry-title"><font size="4">Please say some special prayers of protection for our dear Holy Father.</font></span></h1><h1 property="dc.title"><span class="entry-title"></span><span class="entry-title"><font size="4">Dianne</font></span></h1><h1 property="dc.title"><span class="entry-title"></span> </h1><h1 property="dc.title"><span class="entry-title">Vatican says pope’s Lebanon trip
still a go despite violence</span></h1><div class="module byline">
<h3 property="dc.creator">By <span class="author vcard">Alessandro Speciale|
Religion News Service</span>, <span class="timestamp updated processed" dateTitle="published" compareTime="1347478905000" pageType="leaf" epochTime="1347478907000" contentType="article"></span><span class="timestamp updated processed" dateTitle="updated" compareTime="1347478907000" pageType="leaf" epochTime="1347478905000" contentType="article">Updated: Wednesday, September 12, <span class="time special">3:41 PM</span></span><!-- For AP News Registry --><span class="published hidden" title="20120912194145"></span><span class="updated hidden" title="20120912194147"></span><span class="org fn hidden">AP</span> <!-- /For AP News Registry --></h3></div><div><!-- /byline -->
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<div><span class="dateline"></span>VATICAN CITY — The Vatican confirmed on Wednesday
(Sept. 12) that Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Lebanon will go ahead as planned,
despite growing tension in the region after the killing of the U.S. ambassador
to Libya by a mob enraged by an anti-Islam film.</div>
<div>The Vatican’s chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Vatican
was closely monitoring developments in the region but there were no signs of
specific security concerns for Benedict’s trip so far.</div></article></div><!--/article_body -->
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<div>Benedict is scheduled to leave on Friday for a three-day visit to Lebanon
despite rising instability spilling over from a deadly civil war in neighboring
Syria. The visit is also a signal of the Vatican’s concern for Christian
minorities in the Middle East who feel under threat after the upheavals of the
Arab spring revolutions.</div>
<div>Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
hailed the “Holy Father’s brave visit to Lebanon” in Washington Wednesday (Sept.
12) and lamented the “thousands upon thousands” of persecuted Christians fleeing
the Middle East.</div>
<div>“These Christian families want to stay in the ancient lands of their birth
but too often make the diffucult decision to leave as a result of harrassment or
violent threats by extremists,” said Dolan.</div>
<div>Lombardi said Benedict will restate his “message of dialogue and respect for
all believers of different religions” during his visit.</div>
<div>The attacks against U.S. diplomatic compounds in Libya and Egypt were
allegedly sparked by an American-produced film that satirizes Islam and the
prophet Muhammad.</div>
<div>In his statement, Lombardi also warned against the “tragic results” of
“unjustified offense and provocations against the sensibilities of Muslim
believers.” He said such provocations have the effect of nourishing “tension and
hatred, unleashing unacceptable violence.”</div>
<div>Lombardi stressed that “profound respect for the beliefs, texts, outstanding
figures and symbols” of different religions is an “essential precondition for
the peaceful coexistence of peoples.”</div>
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