Religious freedom is top priority for Church leaders in Middle East
December 06, 2012: Some one hundred Catholic Patriarchs, Bishops and other representatives
of the Church in the Middle East have been meeting in Harissa, Lebanon since Monday
December 3rd. The Assembly of the Catholic Patriarchs of the East is looking at ways
to best implement the Apostolic Exhortation Church in the Middle East concluding the
2010 synod for the Church of that region. Pope Benedict XVI formally presented the
Exhortation to the bishops during his September visit to Lebanon.
In his opening
address for this week’s conference as President of the Assembly, Lebanon’s Maronite
Patriarch Bechara Rai said Muslim communities must protect “the right and duty of
Christians to take part in national life in their various homelands, and to enjoy
full citizenship, without being treated as minorities.” ‘Respect for the rights and
contributions of Christians to their societies in the Middle East’ was a recurrent
theme of Pope Benedict’s apostolic visit to Lebanon.
In an interview with Tracey
McClure, the Patriarch, who was made Cardinal in November’s consistory, said participants
of the Harissa conference would be examining ways to implement the Exhortation in
view of the Bishops’ recommendations and the Message of the Synod for the New Evangelization
held in the Vatican this past October.
“The Apostolic Exhortation will be put
into practice on the level of every church (and) the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs
and Bishops,” says the Patriarch who adds that this “road map” for the church in the
region will be implemented in parishes and communities across the countries of the
Middle East.
Pope Benedict’s call for a “new evangelization” urges Catholics
to deepen their faith and at the same time to evangelize non-believers. But how can
Church leaders and the faithful go about this in the Middle East where not everyone
is free to change his or her religion?
Patriarch Rai responds, “The New Evangelization
in the Middle East will be carried out with new fervour and a profound examination
of conscience through Catholic schools and universities, and through (its) hospitals
and social institutions – all of which are open to Muslims and Christians. So, the
evangelization will be carried out based on Christian culture, life witness, and with
the spreading of Christian values as well as through the dialogue of daily life and
dialogue with intellectuals, politicians and with the world of culture in academic
circles and institutes. It is important for us to inculturate Christian values in
Middle Eastern societies. Because freedom of conscience is not recognized, there are
many secret conversions to Christianity in Lebanon and in Arab countries.”
“Freedom
of conscience is denied to Muslims whereas they encourage and facilitate the conversion
of Christians to Islam. We continue to insist, on every occasion, on the need for
freedom of conscience and the separation of Religion and State.”
Maronite Archbishop
Paul Matar of Beirut says the task before the bishops is not an easy one “because
you have to work on governments, on societies, on universities in order to bring people
to think about freedom of religion…equality among citizens. It’s not a matter of personal
decision; it’s a matter of changing the mentality of the Middle East and we are doing
that in a crisis time of war, of problems, of the Arab Spring.”
“So we are
facing many problems,” adds the Archbishop. “But we are confident in God; I think
we will find somehow our road map to change the society with time.”