Jerusalem Patriarch Calls for Mideast Reconciliation

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The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fuad Twal calls for reconciliation in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and North Africa in his Christmas homily to be delivered in Bethlehem later on Saturday.

Twal, the most senior Roman Catholic in the Middle East, urges "the return of calm and reconciliation in Syria, in Egypt, in Iraq and in North Africa" in the text of a speech published ahead of delivery at midnight mass in the place of Christ's birth.

"We ask for peace, stability and security for the entire Middle East," the homily reads.

In a message delivered earlier this week, Twal acknowledged feeling "concern" over the plight of Eastern Christians in the region.

"I have always defended the changes taking place in favor of freedom and democracy. I have repeatedly emphasized that Christians are not excluded from these movements," he said.

In popular uprisings in Tunis and Egypt which ended decades of "secular" dictatorships, Islamist parties have taken the front stage. Egypt's main Islamist parties emerged on Saturday as winning 65 percent of votes for party lists in the second round of the new parliament.

The U.N. Security Council says that Syria has killed more than 5,000 of its people in recent months, and a spate of attacks on Thursday in Baghdad which killed 60 people has heightened sectarian tensions less than a week after U.S. troops completed their withdrawal.

"O Child of Bethlehem, in this New Year, we place in your hands this troubled Middle East and, above all, our youth full of legitimate aspirations, who are frustrated by the economic and political situation, and in search of a better future," the homily reads.

Twal's homily also addresses the Palestinians, welcoming Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas who was to attend the mass, and congratulating him "in his unfaltering efforts to achieve a just peace in the Middle East, a main thrust of which is the creation of a Palestinian State."

The address says the Palestinians "recently turned to the United Nations in the hope of finding a just solution to the conflict," and notes that "they have been asked to re-engage in a failed peace process," which "has left a bitter taste of broken promises and of mistrust."