Maronite Patriarch expresses hope for Lebanon

May Lebanon remain a free and pluralistic country! That’s the hope the new Lebanese Patriarch of the Maronite Church who is watching the current unrest in the region with concern.
Patriarch Bechara Rai expressed his concerns to Pope Benedict April 14th in his first audience since he was elected leader of the Maronite Church in March.

In his words to the new patriarch, Pope Benedict reiterated the urgency of proposing "the Gospel to those who do not know it well or have moved away from the Church” and to help the local faithful “to rediscover the enthusiasm of the first Christians.”

Tracey McClure asked Patriarch Rai if he fears the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa might in some way spill over into Lebanon...

Speaking in Italian, Patriarch Rai said “Of course we are worried. There could be consequences for Lebanon because we do not know where these protests are going. Lebanon is the place of freedom of expression and the place where all religions are represented; one does not assimilate another.” (And Lebanon is a place) “where there are differences of opinion and the political pluralism of parties. If these regimes of the Arab world were to become tougher,” he said, “it would be the Christians of these countries who would pay! Christians would be the first victims…”

Pope John Paul II often spoke of Lebanon as a model of coexistence among Christians, Muslims and Druze. The nation’s constitution guarantees the political and civil rights of all of its 18 different confessions. The President is always a Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni and the Speaker of the House a Shiite.

Despite the turmoil in countries surrounding Lebanon, Patriarch Rai expressed his belief that its model of pluralism would not be at risk.

“I don’t think so because the Lebanese - all the Lebanese: Muslims and Christians – attach great importance to this coexistence: all of them,” he says. “However, if Christians continue to emigrate in ever greater numbers, Lebanon’s political system will be conditioned by this, also demographically. In fact, if the demographics of Christians were to drop significantly, then even their representation will change. It will no longer be balanced, that is, 50-50. Perhaps it will be 75-25, or perhaps it will tend to disappear. But we hope to be able to preserve our presence and maintain our numbers, demographically as well.”

But in recent years, political divisions among Christians in Lebanon have risen dramatically, often exacerbated by bitter rhetoric. In an attempt to help heal animosities, Patriarch Rai has spoken with Christian political leaders and particularly with Maronite political leaders.

“If you ask them: ‘do you all agree on the national principles?’ They all will all say ‘yes.’ To the question: ‘is your objective to preserve the Christian presence in Lebanon so that this country represents a guarantee for you?’ They answer ‘yes.’” (If you ask them) if diversification among Christians is consistent with political choices, again they answer ‘yes.’

Patriarch Rai said he was pleased that Christian political leaders have accepted his invitation to a Holy Week spiritual retreat at the Patriarchal palace just north of Beirut to “listen to the Word of God” and to dialogue.

He says he invited them to talk with each other, urging them to “complement” each other. “Why be enemies?” he asked. “We are in a democratic country and this means that we have to respect the opinions of the other.”

He urged them to avoid advocating their personal opinions as the best choices, thus “continuing to create animosity as you are doing now.”

He explained that the political leaders will listen to two homilies and during the breaks “we will discuss the political options of each faction.” “They were pleased,” the Patriarch said, “and they responded positively to the invitation.”

The Maronite Patriarch is engaging Muslim leaders in Lebanon in a parallel dialogue. “At the national level,” he said, “ Muslims have asked for an Islamic-Christian summit to be held at the seat of the Patriarchate, something the Muslims themselves requested.” He said he expected that the meeting issue a joint declaration on the principles that unite the two faiths.

In this time of instability for Lebanon, the Partriach called on the “universal Church, through the Holy See” to advocate on behalf of Lebanon’s Christians. “We will do our job internally, amongst ourselves, as the Church on the Catholic-ecumenical level, in interreligious dialogue… (and) we will do our best to dialogue with local governments.”
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