Islam. He calls the Western culture forged by Jewish and Christian traditions a "noble alloy," and also says that Christians have been usefully challenged by Muslim "devotion and piety."

Fourth, Benedict calls for greater attention to new migrants to the region, who are often, he said, "victims of violations of local laws and international conventions."

A disproportionate share of these new migrants to the Middle East, who are often concentrated in the Gulf States, are Christians from nations such as the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and Nigeria. Estimates are that there are almost 1 million Catholics today in Saudi Arabia alone, overwhelmingly composed of these foreign workers in the domestic services and oil industries.

"Native and immigrant Catholics together," the pope writes, "constitute the current reality of Catholicism in the region."

Fifth, Benedictpicks up a frequently voiced concern during the 2010 synod: "careful management of personnel and the church's resources," including the need for "a serious audit of finances and holdings in order to avoid any possible confusion between personal and church property."

During the synod, several observers of the church in the Middle East warned that some officials treated church assets as if it was their personal property, risking a serious misallocation of resources.

Sixth, Benedict endorses a stronger role for women, and greater protection of their rights, both in civil and political life and in the church.

"I want to assure all women that the Catholic church, in fidelity to God's plan, works to advance women's personal dignity and equality with men in response to the wide variety of forms of