Lebanese Muslim groups have welcomed the trip of Benedict XVI “because they appreciate the positive and constructive message that the Pope wants to take,” explained the Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, in the pre-trip briefing which starts on Friday .

Lombardi stated that “the Pope travels to Lebanon, but will speak to the entire Middle East” in presenting his apostolic exhortation, made ​​from the discussions and proposals of the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East held in October 2010 in Rome. Benedict has chosen Beirut to present the document because “Lebanon is the country with the highest percentage of Catholics and also, as John Paul II said, the country itself is a message of coexistence between religions”