ASIA/LEBANON - Maronite Bishops: God bless the visit of Pope Francis to Lebanese land

Wednesday, 6 April 2022 middle east oriental churches pope francis dialogue ecumenicalism area crisis

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Bkerké (Agenzia Fides) - The Maronite bishops "express their joy at the news of the visit of Pope Francis to Lebanon, which is on the agenda for the month of June". They do so at the end of the meeting which saw them meet on the morning of Wednesday April 6 at the patriarchal seat of Bkerké, under the presidency of Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, Patriarch at the seat. While awaiting the details of the official program of the papal visit, the Bishops of the Maronite Church - we read in the press release published at the end of the meeting - "ask God to bless him, and to carry out all the desires of Pope Francis for the good of Lebanon and of all Lebanese people".
The news of the upcoming papal visit to Lebanon was broadcast on Tuesday, April 5 via Twitter by the office of Lebanese President Michel Aoun. "The Lebanese - underlined the Head of State in the statement released by the Presidential Palace - have been waiting for this visit for some time to express their gratitude for His Holiness's attention to Lebanon, to thank him for the initiatives he has undertaken for the country and for the prayers he offered for its peace and stability".
Lebanon, said such an eventuality was “a hypothesis under study.” People close to the Lebanese presidency indicate Sunday June 12 and Monday June 13 as possible dates for the papal visit to Lebanon. Lebanon is going through a phase of economic and social crisis with disastrous effects on the daily life of the Lebanese, who many remind of the collective suffering experienced during the atrocious years of the civil war. The political scenario in Lebanon is made even more uncertain and turbulent by the approach of parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 15. In the statement issued today, the Maronite Bishops also recall the urgency of choosing suitable and competent representatives to be sent to Parliament, who will be able to confirm and implement the plan of economic revival and reform necessary for the country. In October, elections for the new head of state are also to be held in Lebanon. Michel Aoun, who is about to end his presidential term, was received at the Vatican by Pope Francis on March 22.
In recent times, Pope Francis has repeatedly reiterated his intention to visit Lebanon. On August 4, a year after the disastrous explosion that devastated the port of Beirut, the Bishop of Rome, at the end of the general audience, declared to the Lebanese that "my desire to come and visit you is great, and I never tire of praying for you so that Lebanon becomes once again a message of brotherhood, a message of peace for the whole Middle East". On July 1, 2021, the Sovereign Pontiff also convened a Day of Prayer and Reflection for Lebanon, welcoming to the Vatican the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches present in the Land of Cedars. Despite the serious systemic crisis that the country is going through, the coexistence between the 18 religious denominations that make up the Lebanese mosaic has not been seriously affected by the sectarian conflicts that have torn neighboring Syria and other Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq over the past decade. The daily coexistence between the different Christian and Muslim components of Lebanese society is still in danger, but the tragic memory of the years of civil war - which also saw Christians killing other Christians, and Muslims killing other Muslims - seems to have sown in the souls of many Lebanese powerful antibodies that resist the pressures of those who would reduce the different confessional identities to ideological flags of fronts struggling for power. Today, the plural identity of Lebanon could find new inspiration in the paths of brotherhood also suggested by Pope Francis with the Abu Dhabi Document, with the trip to Iraq and the meeting with Ayatollah Ali al Sistani and with the encyclical Fratelli Tutti. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 6/4/2022)