Pope Francis warns against the disappearance of Christianity in the Middle East

<p class = "web-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mo (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = " Pope Francis s' worried Faced with conflicts in the Middle East on Christianity in the region, "our religious brothers and sisters may disappear and the face of the region will be distorted," he said in the Italian port of Bari, describing the region torn by conflict. "Cradle of great monotheistic religions." "data-reactid =" 22 "> Pope Francis worries about Christianity in the region in the face of conflict in the Middle East. "There is a risk that our brothers and sisters of faith will disappear and the face of the region will be distorted," he said in the Italian port of Bari. He described the conflict-ridden region as the "cradle of the great monotheistic religions".

Meanwhile, many people in the Middle East would leave behind their own countries. "Indifference is deadly and we want to raise our voices against this deadly indifference," he told Christian leaders in Syria and Lebanon in Italy.

Lebanese cardinal Béchara Raï called on Western governments to encourage Syrian refugees to return home. States should provide financial support to rebuild their homes.

According to Syrian Bishop Antoine Audo, half of the 1.5 million former Christians have fled the country since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Many churches in Syria have been destroyed, from many Christians have been killed or abducted. Overall, the fighting in Syria has displaced millions of people, killing more than 350,000 people.