Cardinal Rai: Christians always pay the highest price in Mideast conflicts
(Vatican Radio) The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Rai, says Christians always
pay the highest price when conflicts erupt in Middle East countries such as Egypt,
Syria and Iraq. Cardinal Rai also said that outside countries, especially in the
West but also elsewhere, are helping to foment these conflicts.
Listen to
the report (see text below) by Susy Hodges:
"Speaking
in an interview with Vatican Radio, Cardinal Rai says the situation in the Middle
East is becoming more and more critical as each day passes. He said whenever a conflict
breaks out in the Middle East, whenever chaos ensues, Muslim groups attack the minority
Christian community, as if they were always the scapegoat.
The Lebanese Patriarch
said all Christians are asking for is security and stability and spoke of how throughout
the Arab world Christians respect the institutions, the authorities and the constitution.
Thanks to the presence of us Christians and our daily life in all these Arab countries,
he said, we have created a certain moderation in the Muslim world. Speaking about
the tensions between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and the Christian community in
Egypt, Cardinal Rai said it was a known fact that once in power, the Muslim Brotherhood
were seeking to introduce Shariah law. Certainly, he said, the Christians are against
this and want a reformed and democratic Egypt, an Egypt that knows how to respect
human rights.
When asked how he sees the future, Cardinal Rai spoke of
his belief that there is a plan to destroy the Arab world for political and economic
interests. There’s also, he added, a plan to exacerbate as much as possible the inter-confessional
conflicts between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The Maronite Patriarch said he had already
written to the Pope to express his concern about this issue on two occasions."