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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Shortly before 2 p.m. local time today, Benedict XVI arrived at the international airport of Beirut, which is named after Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon who was killed in a bomb attack in 2005.

The Holy Father was greeted by Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites; Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, and Naguib Miqati, prime minister of Lebanon.

Pronouncing his first words on Lebanese soil, the Pope recalled how, during President Sleiman's visit to the Vatican in February 2011, a ceremony had taken place to bless a great statue of St. Maron which stands in a niche on the outside wall of the Vatican Basilica. The presence of that statue, Pope Benedict said, "is a constant reminder of Lebanon in the very place where the Apostle Peter was laid to rest. It witnesses to a long spiritual heritage, confirming the Lebanese people’s veneration for the first of the Apostles and for his successors". The Holy Father also expressed his satisfaction at the excellent relations that have always existed between Lebanon and the Holy See, and underlined the ecclesial importance of one of the reasons for his trip, "the signature and the consigning of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, 'Ecclesia in Medio Oriente'".

He then went on to thank the Catholic patriarchs for their presence, particularly Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir and his successor Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai. He also greeted Lebanese bishops and, through them, "all the Christians of the Middle East". The Exhortation, he explained, is "addressed to everyone" and "is intended as a roadmap for the years to come. During these days I am also pleased to be able to meet many representatives from the Catholic communities of your country, so as to celebrate and pray together. Their presence, commitment and witness are a valued contribution and are highly appreciated in the daily life of all the inhabitants of your beloved country". The Pope also expressed his warm greetings to the Orthodox patriarchs and bishops who had come to welcome him, as well as representatives of the other religious communities in Lebanon.

"Your presence", he said, "shows the esteem and the cooperation which, in mutual respect, you wish to promote among everyone. I thank you for your efforts and I am certain that you will continue to seek out the paths of unity and concord. I cannot forget the sad and painful events which have affected your beautiful country along the years. The successful way the Lebanese all live together surely demonstrates to the whole Middle East and to the rest of the world that, within a nation, there can exist cooperation between the various Churches, all members of the one Catholic Church in a fraternal spirit of communion with other Christians, and at the same time coexistence and respectful dialogue between Christians and their brethren of other religions. Like me, you know that this equilibrium, which is presented everywhere as an example, is extremely delicate. Sometimes it seems about to snap like a bow which is overstretched or submitted to pressures which are too often partisan, even selfish, contrary and extraneous to Lebanese harmony and gentleness. This is where real moderation and great wisdom are tested. And reason must overcome one-sided passion in order to promote the greater good of all".

"I have also come to say how important the presence of God is in the life of everyone and how the manner of coexistence, this conviviality to which your country wishes to bear witness, will run deep only if it is founded upon a welcoming regard for the other and upon an attitude of benevolence, and if it is rooted in God who wishes all men to be brothers. The celebrated Lebanese equilibrium which wishes to continue to be a reality, will continue through the good will and commitment of all Lebanese. Only then will it serve as a model to the inhabitants of the whole region and of the entire world. This is not just a human task, but a gift of God which should be sought with insistence, preserved at all costs, and consolidated with determination".

"I have come to Lebanon as a pilgrim of peace, as a friend of God and as a friend of men. ... Looking beyond your country, I also come symbolically to all the countries of the Middle East as a pilgrim of peace, as a friend of God and as a friend of all the inhabitants of all the countries of the region, whatever their origins and beliefs. ... Your joys and sorrows are constantly present in the Pope's prayers and I ask God to accompany you and to comfort you. Let me assure you that I pray especially for the many people who suffer in this region. The statue of St. Maron reminds me of what you live and endure".

Following the welcome ceremony the Pope travelled to the apostolic nunciature in Harissa.

Published by VISarchive 02 - Friday, September 14, 2012

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Last Updated: 13 June 2022

Address during the signing ceremony
of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
following the Special Assembly for the Middle East
of the Synod of Bishops
(14 September 2012)

Most Holy Father,

Herzlich Wilkommen! Welcome to the East and to Beirut and the Church of Lebanon, one in all its spiritual traditions! Welcome to Lebanon, with all its Muslim and Christian denominations! Welcome to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and to this church dedicated to Saint Paul, built after the model of the Basilica of the Holy Wisdom (Aghia Sophia) in Constantinople, and property of our Missionary Society of Saint Paul!

Welcome too in the name of the Assemblies of Eastern Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops who responded to your call and took part in the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, which was a sign of your care and affection.
      
You are bringing a message to this "message-Lebanon,” as it was so aptly described by your predecessor, Blessed Pope John Paul II, a friend of Lebanon, Arab countries and the whole world.

Light comes from the East: ex Oriente lux. From the East the light went out westwards, carrying the message of Jesus. “That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” (John 1:9)

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Protocol 469/2012R
Rabweh, 13/09/2012

Respect for the faith of others
Condemnation of the film defamatory to Islam

As Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and Head of the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Syria, we denounce the disgraceful film produced by some inhumane faction whose objective is to sow discord and animosity in society.

We also condemn the violent and uncivilised reaction of certain groups, which cannot claim to be defending Islam as they are far removed from the Muslim way of thinking, since the best way of defending Islam is to live and behave according to Islamic values.

We call everyone to love, mutual respect, encounter and dialogue, and to live according to their holy faith in order to construct a better world, a world civilised by faith, hope and love.

Gregorios III (Laham)

Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
Of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

CWN - In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, the head of the Syrian Catholic Church—an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See—said that the right to religious freedom “only exists on paper” in the region and that “fundamental Islam does not want a dialogue on equal terms in the long run.”

“When a young man, a Christian, falls in love with a Muslim woman and she loves him, he has to become a Muslim in order to marry her,” said Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan. “Where is the freedom of faith there?”

He added:

Another example: We now have a family from Iran here and they want to be baptised. But in doing this they are risking their lives. Where is the freedom of religion there? Islam does not tolerate a change of faith. There is a similar situation in Turkey. There you can see what follows when freedom only exists on paper.

The goods of Christians have been confiscated and many churches have been destroyed. But the Christians were in Asia Minor before the Muslims. Rights are also officially recognised in Iraq, but nobody protects them, nobody does anything against the persecution of Christians. And now Syria. Our presence is also under threat there.

Criticizing EU support for the Syrian rebels, he added:

Permit me to speak quite frankly. There's a lot of hypocrisy in all this. For many governments it's merely a matter of economic interests. They don't really care about the fate of the Christians in the Middle East. Otherwise they would advocate equality before the law and the observance of human rights for all, including in those countries where the so-called Arab Spring has not taken place.

More than a year ago we said that the Arab Spring would result in chaos and civil war. This is not a matter of taking sides for or against Assad or some other potentate in the region. It's a matter of equal rights for all. It's a matter of the primacy of human rights and not the primacy of one religion. Integration and living side-by-side are only possible if this primacy is respected.

I said it to the government in Paris and I'll say it to you: Fundamental Islam does not want a dialogue on equal terms in the long run. If the EU were serious about its human rights principles they would openly take up the cause of the future of younger generations in the region. Let's put it like this: there's a lot of economic opportunism around.

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Last Updated: 19 February 2013

Greetings from the bishops of the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church
to the faithful on the occasion of the 2012 Holy Synod
being held in Canada

“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock
of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,
in which you tend the Church of God that He acquired with his own blood”.

(Acts 20:28)

Dearly Beloved in Christ!

These words of the holy apostle Paul, directed to the elders of the Christian community in Miletus, contain a message not only for the people in the times of St. Paul, but for us living today in the 21^st century. As we, the Bishops of the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church throughout the world, prepare to hold our annual Holy Synod, St. Paul reminds us that through this gathering, we who have been called to oversee the Church are to tend this Church of God that the Lord has acquired through the shedding of his own blood, and for which during the thousand-plus year history many of its sons and daughters have given their lives.

This year the UGCC Synod of Bishops will hold its annual gathering in Winnipeg (Canada), to honour the 100^th anniversary of the arrival of the first bishop for our faithful in Canada, Blessed Martyr Nykyta (Budka). A Synod – this is a special work of God, carried out by men: a sign of the presence and special manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christ’s Church.

In preparing for this event on Canadian soil, we want from all our hearts to greet all Ukrainians and their descendants, all the sons and daughters of the Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church, who live in Canada, to assure each of you of our prayers, our admiration and love! Taking part in the Synod will be bishops from Canada, Ukraine, Western Europe, Latin America, the United States and Australia. We wish to address you with the Word of God in hope. We wish to strengthen you in faith, being filled with great joy in our anticipated meeting with you.

We are convinced, that the Synod event will fill all our Canadian community with the special blessing of the Holy Spirit, blowing the fresh wind of this Spirit into the sails of the Ukrainian Church in this country, giving you the strength and courage to continue living the Christian life and faith of your ancestors.

When Blessed Nykyta arrived in Canada in 1912, he found our faithful striving to establish their lives in a new land with many challenges and hurdles. The people knew well the customs and lifestyle in their Ukrainian homeland. They knew how to till the soil. They knew how to raise their children. They knew how to live their Ukrainian Catholic faith. But now it was as if they had come to a new world. There were different ways of working the land. There were different kinds of government. There were new languages and customs. There were many churches and religions that confused them. How could Bishop Nykyta tend the Church of God in such a challenging land? How could he help our faithful keep their Christian faith and Ukrainian heritage in a world that was often very alien and inhospitable?

Trusting totally in God, filled with great courage and evangelical dedication, working together with the clergy, the monastics and active laity, the bishop strove to strengthen and build the Ukrainian Church and community life across the vast terrain of Canada. Because of his efforts and the dedicated work of his successors over the last one hundred years our Church in Canada has accomplished much. It developed into the first Metropolitan See outside of Ukraine. It has given many bishops, priests, monastics and sisters for our UGCC not just in Canada, but also throughout the world. Many of the laity have achieved great success in the Canadian society as teachers and lawyers, doctors and engineers, politicians and military officials. Our people have built many beautiful church buildings, schools, cultural centers, printing presses and seniors homes. Our laity belong to various organizations by which they live out their faith and help spread the Word of God.

You, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, together with your priests and bishops, are the inheritors and witnesses of this glorious church and national legacy, which our Ukrainian people brought with them and preserved in this land. On this occasion we desire to express to you our sincere recognition and gratitude for your attachment to the faith of your ancestors and for the preservation of our national and cultural traditions.

Your dedication and faithfulness to the divine matters of our Church in Ukraine were especially felt during the 80’s and 90’s of the last century, when after the long decades of persecution the Lord granted freedom to her and to our people. Then you willingly hastened to help with your prayers, generous donations and by your direct participation, contributing to the rebirth and rebuilding of the Ukrainian nation and our native Church. We remember this and we thank you for this!

Today, as we prepare to celebrate the 1025 anniversary of the Baptism of Rus’ Ukraine and to consecrate the Patriarchal (Cathedral) Sobor of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv, which, we hope, will occur in 2013, together with you we offer at the altar of the Almighty our prayer of thanksgiving for the gifts of holy faith and freedom for our people, beseeching the Lord for the blessing of continued work, so that God’s truth and national unity would be made firm on our motherland’s soil.

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ! Spiritually united with all of you, on September the 9^th we will begin this year’s Holy Synod of the UGCC. Together with the celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the arrival of your first bishop, we wish to know better the life of our Ukrainian community in this country, with all the successes and challenges with which you live. Thus with holy impatience we await this time of encounter, prayer and sharing with you. We pray, that this Synod will be an occasion for the breath of the Holy Spirit to fill our Church, leading us into the future that lies ahead.

During this important moment in our pilgrim journey towards the Kingdom of God, we appeal to you with the request for prayer and support.  Pray that through the 2012 UGCC Synod all members of our Church will grow in faith and wisdom, always ready to spread the Gospel message of the Lord.

The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

In the name of the UGCC Synod of Bishops

+ Sviatoslav

Given at the Patriarchal (Cathedral) Sobor of the Resurrection of Christ, on the 25^th of August, in the year of the Lord 2012, on the day of the holy martyrs Photius and Anicetus.

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Last Updated: 13 June 2022

Protocol 414/2012A
Ain Traz, 30/08/2012

To our sons and daughters in Syria and to the sons and daughters of the Church worldwide
To all persons of good will

FOR SYRIA, RECONCILIATION IS THE ONLY LIFELINE

“Come to a common word between us and you.” (Aal ‘Imran 3:64)
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matthew 5: 9)

Introduction

Eyes and hearts are shedding tears today because the language of violence has overwhelmed all other sorts of language. Weapons are flooding in from all sides to every area; to every hand, hearth and home...Human victims, belonging to various groups, perish, leaving behind them distress and family, social and national tragedies. May God in his mercy receive the victims and bind up the wounded, heal the sick and console the bereaved. In the face of these challenges, there are more and more obstacles in the way of finding humanitarian assistance and delivering it to the needy and homeless.

How can we move towards resolving the crisis? Through this letter we wish once more to call everyone to dialogue; for us to go beyond our injuries, sufferings and bloodshed and be numbered among those who believe in dialogue, reconciliation, and face to face encounter.

This way is the most difficult, but the only reasonable one, as it represents a pledge for the future. In any case it is inevitable, since no group can by any means completely annihilate any other. Violence breeds violence, but dialogue strengthens and fructifies dialogue. Reconciliation, for its part, prepares hearts and minds for further dialogue and reconciliation.