CELRA: Towards the Synod

 The Episcopal Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions met in Amman from Tuesday morning , March 2 until Wednesday evening, March 3, in order to prepare for the upcoming Synod of the Catholic Church in the Middle East that will be held in Rome in October 2010.

The twelve member Bishops' Conference was only one member short as the members convened at the Our Lady of Peace Center in Amman. Present were the President of the Conference, His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, three of his Vicars, Bishop Selim Sayegh, Vicar in Amman, Jordan, Bishop Boulos Marcuzzo, Vicar in Nazareth, Israel and Father David Neuhaus, Vicar for the Hebrew-Speaking communities (absent was Father Umberto Barato, Vicar in Cyprus). Also present were newly ordained Bishop Adel Zaki from Egypt, Bishop Paul Dahdah from Lebanon, Bishop Giannaza Nazzaro from Syria, Bishop Jean Sleiman from Iraq, Bishop Camillo Ballin from Kuwait, Bishop Paul Hinder from the Arabian Peninsular and Bishop Giorgio Bertini from Somalia and Djibouti.