The Syrian synod had met in Rome from April 26 to 28, with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone presiding as the Pope's representative. The participants included Patriarch Ignace Pierre VII Abdel-Ahad of Antioch and 13 Syrian Catholic bishops.
Receiving the Syrian prelates in a private audience on Saturday, the Holy Father noted that their visit to the Vatican helped to illustrate the ties that bind the Bishop of Rome to a "part of the People of God that is not large, but ancient and important." Citing the words of his predecessor John Paul II, the Pontiff said the Eastern Catholic churches play an important role today in the search for "unity and reconciliation" between people of different faiths and different Christian denominations. That task is particularly important, the Pope said, in light of the tensions that afflict the Syrian Catholic community today.
The Syrian Catholic Church, which has historical ties with the Syrian Orthodox Church, is an ancient Church of the Antiochene rite, with about 125,000 faithful today, living mostly in the Middle East. The former Syrian Catholic patriarch, Cardinal Ignace Moussa Daoud, is now the prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Eastern Churches.