At the invitation of the International
Maronite Foundation, and in conjunction with the Eparchy of Our
Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, a Maronite International Congress
was held in Los Angeles from June 20-23, 2002 under the auspices
of His Eminence and Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir,
Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, who sent as his personal
reprehensive, His Excellency Bishop Youssef Bechara. Bishops,
Lebanese Congressmen, and representatives of Maronite
organizations from Lebanon and all around the world participated.
After listening to the words of His
Beatitude, they studied the following issues:
+ the role of the Maronite Church in Lebanon
and throughout the world,
+ the strategic vision of the Patriarchate
for the twenty-first century,
+ the marginalization of Christians in
Lebanon, as well as the Lebanese political and economic situation.
Thus they publish the following resolutions
that address the concerns of the Church, Lebanon, and the
communities abroad:
I. Church Concerns
1
They reaffirm their perpetual allegiance to the universal
Catholic Church, and to the Holy Father, the Pope of Rome. They
express their gratitude to Pope John Paul II for his relentless
efforts aimed at the preservation of an independent and sovereign
Lebanon, and its unique character of freely chosen
Islamic-Christian conviviality. The Holy Father believes that a
democratic, pluralistic Lebanon gives the Lebanese Christians a
vital role conducive to the preservation of Christianity in the
Middle East.
2
They reaffirm their loyalty to the Maronite Patriarchate,
their obedience to the person of the Patriarch, their support of
his positions and initiatives. They pledge their continued support
for his remarkable, courageous and constant stand. They desire to
stay always close to their Patriarch.
3
They commit themselves to Church membership in their
dioceses, and to work actively with their bishops, and parish
priests throughout the world, in order to preserve their spiritual
and moral values, their heritage and traditions. In doing so they
bear witness in the countries in which they live, and contribute
through their various activities – social, cultural, economic, and
political – to the development of man and society.
4
The Congress stresses the importance of strong ties and
collaboration between Lebanon and the communities abroad,
especially with regard to providing dedicated priests to serve
these communities, and to the encouragement of local vocations in
the parishes abroad.
5
The Congress has taken special interest in the Maronite
youth who have expressed their concerns and aspirations: the youth
are the “hope of the Church” and the “nucleus of the society.”
Since our youth are “the renewal force in the Church and society”,
the Congress recommends that we provide them the necessary
spiritual and moral formation, and encourage and support their
involvement in the life of the Church and its mission. Likewise,
they pledge to work tirelessly in assisting them in the building
of their spiritual and cultural future, to encourage them to
maintain strong ties with the youth of Lebanon, and to be
pro-active participants in their community.
II. Lebanon Concerns
6
They see in Lebanon their spiritual motherland, where the
inculturation of the gospel took place in the region where the
“Prince of Peace” was born, and from where the “Light of the
World” proceeded. They value Lebanon’s mission to be, for the East
and for the West, a country of consensual democracy, built on
conviviality and dialogue between various cultures and religions,
as well as on public freedoms - mainly of speech and religion - on
equal participation in the government and administration, and on
the fundamental human rights. Therefore, they recommit themselves
to:
a.
unify their ranks through communication and cooperation
among the various entities in Lebanon and abroad, according to the
rule of unity in diversity. Their unity would thus become a forum
for political activism on behalf of Lebanon.
b.
take practical initiatives to implement the principles and
directives of post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, “New Hope for
Lebanon” concerning the mission of Christians in Lebanon, the
Middle East and Africa and, the implementation of pastoral links
between the Church in Lebanon, the communities abroad, and
communion with the other churches.
c.
work to capitalize on the initiatives that His Beatitude
made during his pastoral visits to strengthen the bonds between
Lebanon and the Maronite Church abroad.
d.
adopt the founding document of the Cornet Chehwan
Gathering, and support its national positions.
e.
demand the Lebanese Government overcome all that stands in
the way of national reconciliation, activated by the visit of His
Beatitude to Mount Lebanon in August 2001. They ask the Government
to correct the deficiencies in political life, which target
Christians for “political” and “security” reasons, politicize the
Justice System, and militarize the regime; They demand the release
of Dr. Samir Geagea, Dr. Toufic Hindi, the journalists, Antoine
Bassil and Habib Younes, all the prisoners of South Lebanon, and
all other political prisoners, as well as the return of General
Michel Aoun and others exiled.
f.
the Congress urges the Lebanese Court to decide on the
pending lawsuit submitted by the Maronite League to nullify the
controversial and unconstitutional elements of the naturalization
act that gave Lebanese citizenship to thousands of ineligible
people.
g.
ask the Lebanese Government to amend the present electoral
law so it would serve the true democracy, and it will ensure
proper representation of the people.
h.
call on the Lebanese Government to eliminate corruption at
all levels and to make sure that government services are efficient
with fairness to everyone.
i.
appeal to United Nations, and governments throughout the
world, especially the United States, to support Lebanon in its
efforts to regain its national sovereignty through the total
withdrawal of Syrian and all foreign troops from its territories,
and the end of Syria’s political, judicial, military and economic
hegemony over Lebanon. This withdrawal would constitute a
beginning for the establishment of sound relations and full
diplomatic representation between the two countries and two
peoples for their mutual interests, so that these relations would
balance, to a great degree, better cooperation and solidarity, as
well as clear sovereignty and independence for Lebanon. To this
end this Congress supports those elements of the “Syria
Accountability Act, HR 4483 and S 2215” that pertain to the
withdrawal of Syria from Lebanon.
j.
demand that the Lebanese Government be accountable for
control of all its land, requiring the deployment of its army to
assume responsibility for all security and the control of its
borders according to U.N. resolutions. The disputed matter of
Shebaa Farms should be resolved by less costly means thus sparing
Lebanon from further Israeli retaliation. The Congress calls for
the taking away of every weapon on the Lebanese soil so that only
the weapon of the government would remain.
k.
affirm the Palestinian refugees’ right to a just solution
for their cause according to international resolutions, and to
establish their own independent and sovereign Palestine; affirm
the unanimous Lebanese position to refuse their permanent
settlement in Lebanon because of the grave consequences at all
levels. The Congress asks the United States to expedite in finding
a final solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict according to the
U.N. resolutions.
7
To condemn terrorism, in any and all of its forms, as a
totally unacceptable mean to pursue political objectives. And we
support the efforts of the U.S.A. to combat terrorism all over the
world, in the wake of September 11, 2001 so that all societies may
enjoy their right to stability, security and good life.
III. Communities Abroad
8. In view of the
importance of the Lebanese presence in the world, and to insure
the continuity between Lebanon and the communities abroad, the
Congress appeals to the government of Lebanon to give the citizens
living abroad special consideration by responding to their
following requests:
- Give Lebanese citizens abroad the right,
and the means, to vote their representatives in the
Parliament, as do all other nations.
- Facilitate and expedite the registration
of birth certificates in the Lebanese Census Bureau of those
who have been recorded in the Lebanese Consulates.
- Strengthen the diplomatic and consular
corps in the countries abroad, facilitate their work in a way
that deepens the political, economic, cultural, and tourist
ties between Lebanon and other countries.
- Ask the Lebanese Government to inform
the communities abroad about the proposals of privatization in
the productive domains in Lebanon through the commercial
institutions and the diplomatic consulates, in order to give
them an opportunity to get involved in the economic and social
life in their homeland Lebanon.
- The Congress pledges their people the
proper help to confront the economic and social crisis that has
deteriorated to a dangerous point, and to curb the emigration
out of Lebanon through some initiatives such as:
i.
the creation of a business council to promote joint
ventures in key industries,
ii.
the award of university scholarships to the needy who
excel,
iii.
the support of academic and vocational education,
hospitalization, and housing initiatives,
iv.
the organization of matching “twins” at the level of the
various social groups, families and individuals.
- This body strongly encourages the Lebanese
communities in the countries abroad to organize visits to
Lebanon where businessmen, youth, and others would travel for
reasons of relaxation and strengthening the bonds among the
Lebanese in and outside Lebanon. This would give them an
opportunity to know first hand the actual political, social and
economical situation, and to explore ways to help the Lebanese
citizens to remain securely in Lebanon and to hope for a better
future.
IV. Conclusion
- The Congress thanks and appreciates the
Lebanese journalists and the printed and audio-visual media,
especially the satellite television stations, who render a great
service at the informative, cultural, social and national
levels. By means of their programs, they introduce Lebanon, its
unique characteristics, heritage and mission. At the same time,
they warn everyone from threatening the freedom of speech for
all Lebanese media. They also thank all the local and Lebanese
media who covered the meetings of the Congress. Because the
Voice of Charity, and Tele Lumiere are two
ecclesiastical institutions, the Congress asks all to support
them financially for the sake of a greater and wider mission.
- The Congress thanks the International
Maronite Foundation, and all the participants who came from
different parts of the world, especially the Christian and
non-Maronite organizations and entities who participated
effectively in this Congress, and contributed to its success.
They emphasize the importance of coordination and continuity
with regard to all the Eastern Churches in Lebanon, the Arab
world, and abroad. The International Maronite Foundation is
willing to serve as a catalyst, along with all Maronites of good
will, with the task to follow-up on the implementation of these
resolutions, along with all the other suggestions and hopes
expressed during the Congress. They ask their fellow Maronites
all over the world to unite and collaborate in order to
safeguard their faith, traditions, and belonging to Lebanon
through the implementation of these resolutions.
The International Maronite Foundation
Under the auspices of His Beatitude
Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir
In conjunctions with
The Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon
In Los Angeles
Last
Updated:
June 25, 2002
