ASIA/LEBANON - The Annual Assembly of Maronite Bishops begins. Patriarch Raï: may God show his power by giving peace to the world

Wednesday, 8 June 2022 middle east oriental churches synodality wars peace area crisis

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Bkerké (Agenzia Fides) - The annual Synod of Bishops of the Maronite Church, hosted by the Patriarchal See of Bkirké, began today with three days of spiritual exercises. "We carry in our hearts", declared Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï, in particular, starting the day with a brief introductory speech, "our people and all the peoples who suffer from wars, blockades, aggressions, displacements and 'immigration' in Ukraine and in many other countries. "We ask God, the God of peace" added the Patriarch, "to work with his ineffable power to make peace in these countries win, and to comfort those who suffer".
In his introductory remarks, the Lebanese Cardinal also recalled the Maronite Bishops who died over the past year and prayed for stability in Lebanon, so that the country can overcome the political, economic, financial and food crises in which it finds itself "We pray - added the Patriarch - so that a new government can be formed as soon as possible, so that the executive authority can quickly take charge of its tasks" The Primate of the Maronite Church also invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary, "Our Lady of Lebanon", so that the Land of Cedars "remains united in plurality as a land of holiness, love and fraternity". The Spiritual Exercises for Maronite Bishops are preached by Father Nadim El-Helou, of the Congregation of Lebanese Missionaries, Former Rector of the School of the Holy Apostles in Jounieh. After the spiritual exercises, the work of the Annual Synodal Assembly of Maronite Bishops will begin on Monday, June 13 and will last all week. After the Lebanese legislative elections held on Sunday 15 May, no decisive step has been taken towards the formation of a new government. From the ballot box, as Father Rouphael Zgheib, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Lebanon explains to Fides (see Fides, 18/5/2022), a political framework was born that risks paralysis, marked both by the fragmentation of political acronyms and by the polarization of the potential axes of opposing alliances. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 8/6/2022)