Greek Church says Pope to visit Greece to highlight refugee crisis
ATHENS/VATICAN CITY- The Greek Orthodox Church on Tuesday said it had accepted a suggestion from Pope Francis that he visit Greece to highlight the plight of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict.
The Holy Synod, the ruling body of the Greek Orthodox Church, said in a statement that it wants the pontiff to visit Lesbos, the Aegean island where hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants have arrived in the past year.
The Greek statement said the pope had expressed a wish to make a visit to draw attention to conflict in the wider Mediterranean area "which has a detrimental effect on Christian communities, but also to highlight the humanitarian problem caused by desperate refugees who are seeking a better future in Europe."
