BY Ian Dunn | October 1 | 
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Vatican summit on the rise of the Islamic State
Apostolic nuncios from Middle East region gather in Rome tomorrow and tackling the persecution of Christians is on their agenda
Pope Francis has summoned his envoys to the Middle East to the Vatican for a rare summit to discuss the rise of the Islamic State and its persecution of Christians.
The gathering—which begins tomorrow and will last until Saturday—will include the apostolic nuncios to Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinians as well as representatives to the United Nations and the European Union. They will hold talks with more than a dozen top Vatican officials, including Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin (above), who addressed the United Nations on the Middle East crisis on Monday.
Earlier this month, during a visit to predominantly Muslim Albania, the Holy Father issued a strong criticism of Islamist militants, saying no religious group that used violence and oppression could claim to be ‘the armour of God.’
Cardinal Parolin told the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday that it was ‘both licit and urgent to stop aggression through multilateral action and a proportionate use of force.’
The Islamic State has declared a ‘caliphate’ in the territories it controls in Syria and Iraq, and has killed or driven out large numbers of Christians and others who do not subscribe to its extreme version of Sunni Islam.
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