Nicosia, Cyprus - In a document presented here Sunday by Pope Benedict XVI, bishops from across the Middle East called on Christians to become a dynamic minority in a conflict-ridden region and attributed their declining numbers here to "instability" caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the war in Iraq and unrest in Lebanon.
It also lamented the rise of "political Islam" and said Christians suffered in countries where Muslims often "make no distinction between religion and politics."
Benedict's 5-year-old papacy has been marked by tensions with Muslims and Jews, which his visit last year to Jordan, Israel and the West Bank did not entirely put to rest. The document issued Sunday, a working paper for a meeting of bishops to be held in Rome this fall, touched on some of the most contentious issues of Middle East politics and seemed poised to elicit controversy.
Ending his three-day visit to Cyprus, Benedict also made a "personal appeal for an urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, before such conflicts lead to greater bloodshed."
The first visit by a pope to Cyprus was aimed at strengthening ties between the Catholic and Orthodox churches and calling attention to the situation of Christians in the Middle East. In recent decades, the percentage of Christians in the Middle East has fallen from 20 percent of the population to less than 5 percent, and the number is dropping.
"Today, emigration is particularly prevalent because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the resulting instability throughout the region," the bishops' document said. "The menacing social situation in Iraq and the political instability of Lebanon further intensify the phenomenon."
It also said that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories created "difficulties in everyday life, inhibiting freedom of movement, the economy and religious life," as well as making access difficult to some Christian holy sites in the West Bank, like the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The document was written by a dozen bishops and top Vatican officials, including the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and bishops from Egypt, Syria and Iran, based on comments submitted by bishops across the Middle East before a monthlong bishops' meeting in October.
Benedict sees Christians "not as a minority in decline, but as a creative minority," said Andrea Riccardi, the founder of the Community of Sant' Egidio, a lay Catholic group active in interreligious dialogue that helped organize the pope's visit to Cyprus. "The Christian minority in the Middle East is important to prevent Muslim totalitarianism."