When Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Beirut tomorrow, among those greeting him will be CNEWA’s own president, Msgr. John E. Kozar.
Msgr. Kozar will be participating in the pontiff’s pastoral visit to Lebanon, where he will deliver his “apostolic exhortation,” a document that concludes the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, which was held in the Vatican in October 2010. Before he left for Lebanon, Msgr. Kozar sat down with the National Catholic Reporter’s Tom Gallagher to discuss the papal trip to Lebanon, the situation of Christians in the Middle East and CNEWA’s role in the volatile region.
“I want be there,” Msgr. Kozar said, “as this exhortation unfolds, as he [the pope] shares his insights. I would imagine that he really wants to show not only to Christians in the Middle East and others there, that the presence of the church is something to be cherished. To be cherished not only by its own membership, but by others of other faiths, such as Muslims, that the church historically has great gifts to share.”
And stay tuned for more on the pope’s trip to Lebanon. ONE-TO-ONE will feature news from the journalists traveling with the pope, as well as firsthand accounts from Msgr. Kozar, who will be blogging as the trip unfolds.