My Way News - Old Catholic orders fade as monks and nuns age
My Way News reports: "Several factors are behind the decline, including higher birthrates of Jews and Muslims and an exodus driven by continued Israeli-Palestinian violence and better opportunities in the West. In some instances, particularly in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Christians have been subject to intimidation by a minority of Muslims. Before retiring, Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep concerns about Christians in the Middle East. On his final foreign trip, a visit to Lebanon last September, Benedict warned that a Middle East without Christians 'would no longer be the Middle East.' The plight of Catholics in the cradle of Christianity is sure to be a priority for the next pope."