Syriac Patriarch Youssef III Younan
Alessandro Speciale 8-30-2013
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman, Jordan, on May 22, 2013. Via RNS/Wikimedia Commons
Pope Francis and Jordan’s King Abdullah II reaffirmed that dialogue is the “only option” to end the conflict in Syria, just as the United States and its European allies consider launching a military strike against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The two leaders met for the first time on Thursday at the Vatican. The pontiff and the king, accompanied by his wife Queen Rania, talked in private for 20 minutes.
According to an official Vatican statement, during the meeting “special attention” was given to Syria’s “tragic situation.”