Maronite bishops appeal for a stop to the Christian exodus from Lebanon
(26 Aug. 2006) : Maronite bishops in Lebanon are afraid that the destruction wrought
by Israel and the rising tide of Islamic fundamentalism will push Christians to leave
the country en masse. For this reason, they are appealing to international organisations
to help the Lebanese population as quickly as possible to re-open schools, deliver
medicines and prepare for the coming winter. Uncertainty over the future, not fear,
is pushing Christians to emigrate. In an interview with AsiaNews, Msgr. Guy-Paul
Noujaim, Maronite patriarchal vicar for the diocese of Sarba, expressed his concerns,
saying, “These days a great number of Christians are joining the exodus. They feel
abandoned.” Archbishop Georges Bakouni, who heads the Melkite Catholic community in
Tyre, has urged his people to stay in Lebanon, and asked those who fled the fighting
to "come home and show that Lebanon will not die." The Christian exodus from Lebanon
has accelerated in recent decades. Lebanon, which is considered the only place of
refuge for Christians in the Middle East, and the one bridge between the "Muslim"
East and "Christian" West, is now faced with the real possibility of losing its Christian
population. In the last official national census, Christians-- mostly Maronite-- composed
63% of Lebanon's population. Today the best estimates fix the Christian population
at 32%.