Antelias – 29 March 2014. On Saturday morning, Cardinal Kurt Koch, accompanied
by his staff from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon Gabriele Giordano Caccia,
visited His Holiness Aram I. Archbishop Nareg Alemezian, the Ecumenical Officer
of the Catholicosate, was also present at the meeting.
The Cardinal and His Holiness covered a wide range of issues, starting with the
ecumenical movement and the Roman Catholic Church, the activities of the Middle
East Council of Churches, bilateral dialogues, problems and concerns related to
the life of the two churches and interfaith matters. They also discussed the
centuries-old relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the
Catholicosate of Cilicia. In this context Catholicos Aram I proposed that
current relations between the two churches be further strengthened on
international, regional levels.
The meeting ended with an update on the situation in Lebanon and the
forthcoming presidential elections.