Vatican prefect visits Christians in Holy Land

Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud arrived in Jerusalem on Tuesday for a five-day visit to Christians in the Holy Land. The cardinal, who is the Vatican prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, where he was welcomed by the Franciscans who administer the Basilica of the Nativity. Cardinal Moussa Daoud, a Syrian-rite Catholic who was the Patriarch of Antioch before his appointment to his current post, also met with Palestinian civil authorities and with representatives of other Christian groups in the region, including Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic clerics. He returned to Jerusalem the next day for a visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Later this week Cardinal Moussa is due to meet with the Latin-rite Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, and other leaders of the Eastern Catholic communities in the Holy Land.