SW News: Pope Francis has extended the authority of various Eastern Catholic Churches in order to give them jurisdiction over their faithful who live in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. Although the Catholic Church is a unified global entity, the universal Church is actually composed of 24 churches — one Latin or Western Rite Church which comprises of the vast majority of Catholics worldwide plus 23 Eastern or Oriental churches, each of which is in full communion with the See of Rome. Up until now, all Catholics living in the Arabian Peninsula have been subject to the jurisdiction of two Latin-rite apostolic vicars. They cover the countries of Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The majority of Catholics in those countries are foreign workers and most of them are Latin-rite Catholics. But almost all of the other Catholic rites are also present. Hence, Pope Francis is now giving the governing patriarchs of several Eastern Catholic churches jurisdiction over their faithful in Arabia. According to Vatican News, that change involves six Eastern Catholic patriarchal churches: those being the Coptic, Maronite, Syriac, Melkite, Chaldean and Armenian Catholic churches. Catholics belonging to Eastern churches without a patriarch will continue to be under the jurisdiction of the Latin-rite apostolic vicars. On the Arabian Peninsula that mainly involves Indian workers from the Syro-Malankara or Syro-Malabar churches.

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