教皇本笃十六世将出访黎巴嫩

 

During his three-day visit he will meet politicians and leaders from Lebanon's 18 religious groups. Christians² make up 40% of the country's population.

 

The visit comes as Lebanon - including the Christian¹ community - is increasingly divided over the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

 

The Vatican has said he will seek to avoid making political statements.

 

Instead, the Pope is expected to call for an end to the violence in Syria.

 

Correspondents say he will also express his concern about the dwindling³ Christian presence in the Middle East.

 

In Iraq, tens of thousands of Christians have been driven from their homes by sectarian（宗派的） violence.

 

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the pontiff will find a very different Lebanon to the one his predecessor⁴, Pope John Paul II, saw in 1997.

 

The assassination⁵ of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 led to the end of Syria's long occupation of the country, an event which was swiftly followed by the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

 

Hezbollah - a Shia group - is now the power behind the government but Syria remains⁶ the defining issue in Lebanese politics, our correspondent says.

 

Political parties are divided into pro- and anti-Syrian camps and the violence across the border is increasingly pitting Shia and Sunni Muslims against each other in Lebanon.

 

In addition to the conflict in Syria, recent controversy⁷ over a film deemed to be offensive to the Prophet Mohammed has raised tensions in the region ahead of the Pope's visit.

 

The film, The Innocence⁸ of Muslims, believed to have been made by a Coptic Egyptian Christian in the US, has sparked protests across the Middle East and led to the death of the US ambassador to Libya.

 

Signs welcoming the Pope have been put up along the main airport road into Beirut, including banners erected⁹ by Hezbollah reading "Welcome to the country of resistance".

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