Paul Hinder

Towards the assembly of bishops for the Middle East. The theme chosen points to the fundamental problem of the Church in a region that is characterised by bitter and deep conflict. On the one hand, divisions and, on the other, emigration: the very presence of Christians in their original homeland is at stake.

The tiny Christian community of the Yemen, which reappeared in the middle of the nineteenth century more than a thousand years after its disappearance, has very few opportunities to express itselfbecause of the limitations imposed on religious freedom. The low profile imposed by the general climate of society.