BEIRUT: Syrian Christian opposition leader George Sabra told Pope Benedict XVI that the survival of the Damascus regime poses a threat to the country's Christians, the Syrian National Council said Sunday. "The survival of the (President Bashar) Assad regime is a danger to Christians and Muslims in Syria alike," Sabra, who is spokesman for the opposition SNC, told the pontiff during a visit to the Vatican on Saturday. Sabra, who was accompanied by the exiled group's head Abdel Basset Sayda in meeting the pope, also thanked him for his visit to Lebanon and guidance to Middle East Christians, the SNC said in a statement. [Link]