Pope Benedict’s three-day apostolic journey to Lebanon kicks off Friday
(the weekend’s itinerary can be found
here), and the
trip is expected to carry great significance not only for that country’s
diverse Catholic communities, but for the larger Arab world as well, as
violence
directed at the West continues in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen and civil war rages
in neighboring Syria. John Allen, at the
National
Catholic Reporter, believes that this trip—Benedict’s 24th foreign journey
as pope—
“could
potentially be among his most consequential.”
The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has
said that the Holy Father never considered postponing his Lebanon trip due
to security concerns, and the Lebanese interior minister has emphasized that, despite
its proximity to warring Syria, “Lebanon
is a stable country.”
In the days leading up to the weekend’s events, many
prominent Muslims, including the head of the Lebanon-based militant group
Hezbollah, have spoken positively about the Holy Father’s trip. John Allen reports:
Hezbollah’s leader,
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has publicly welcomed the visit, describing it as
“extraordinary and historic.”
Other Muslim leaders have also struck positive notes,
including Grand Mufti Sheikh Rashid Qabbani, a Sunni.
“The regimes in the Arab world are changing, and we
all want to have security and equality and justice. I hope the pope’s visit will
reflect that,” Qabbani said.
Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hasan al-Amin was
equally enthusiastic.
“Christians are a major part of the Lebanese
structure, and the pope’s visit emphasizes coexistence between Muslims and
Christians in the country,” he said.
On Wednesday night, the “Asia News” agency reported
that Christians and Muslims came together in Beirut’s Museum Square to stage a
prayer vigil in advance of the pope’s arrival. Musical bands played, and Muslim
read verses from the New Testament while a Christian read passages from the
Qur’an.
One of the most notable aspects of this papal trip is the remarkable
diversity of the Catholic communities Benedict will be addressing; a
Vatican bulletin released today points out that the country’s capital city
of Beirut is home to no fewer than five dioceses and one apostolic vicariate. Allen
has a
helpful run-down on these churches:
Lebanon recognizes eighteen different religious groups, among them
seven separate Catholic churches. They are:
·
The
Maronite Church
·
The
Greek Melkite Church
·
The
Armenian Catholic Church
·
The
Syriac Catholic Church
·
The
Chaldean Catholic Church
·
The
Coptic Church
·
The
Latin Church
Four of these are patriarchates, presided over by their own
patriarch: the Maronites, Greek-Melkites, Armenian Catholics and the Syriac
Catholics.
While all these churches are in full communion with Rome, they
retain their own separate leadership, jurisdiction, structures and finances.
It can also be expected that religious freedom will be a key theme of the
Holy Father’s visit to the predominantly Muslim country. Jesuit
scholar Father Samir Khalil Samir, of Beirut’s St. Joseph University,
believes that Lebanon is uniquely suited for such a discussion, noting, “Lebanon
is the only country where you can convert from one religion to another without
the risk of being killed or severely marginalized by society. … What is
possible in Lebanon is totally impossible in the rest of the world”:
The fact that in wanting to
address the Middle East, the Pope chose Lebanon, means that this country has a
mission. And the Lebanese Muslims are aware of this. Faced with issues such as
religious freedom, freedom of conscience, the relationship with modernity and
the West, they have a much more moderate and open position compared to all
other Muslims in the region.
Lebanon as a multiethnic and
multireligious country, open to all traditions, is to some extent an ideal for
the Arab Spring, that dreams of a secular state, open to all religious and
cultural traditions.
Hints of what Benedict may have to say on religious freedom and the
unique position of Christians in the Middle East may be found in the
homily he delivered at the close of the Special Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops for the Middle East in October 2010:
The words of the Lord Jesus may be applied to
Christians in the Middle East: “There is no need to be afraid, little flock,
for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). Indeed,
even if they are few, they are bearers of the Good News of the love of God for man,
love which revealed itself in the Holy Land in the person of Jesus Christ. This
Word of salvation, strengthened with the grace of the Sacraments, resounds with
particular potency in the places in which, by Divine Providence, it was
written, and it is the only Word which is able to break that vicious circle of
vengeance, hate, and violence. From a purified heart, in peace with God and
neighbour, may intentions and initiatives for peace at local, national, and
international levels be born. In these actions, to whose accomplishment the
whole international community is called, Christians as full-fledged citizens
can and must do their part with the spirit of the Beatitudes, becoming builders
of peace and apostles of reconciliation to the benefit of all society.
Another contribution that Christians can bring to
society is the promotion of an authentic freedom of religion and conscience,
one of the fundamental human rights that each state should always respect. In
numerous countries of the Middle East there exists freedom of belief, while the
space given to the freedom to practice religion is often quite limited.
Increasing this space of freedom becomes essential to guarantee to all the
members of the various religious communities the true freedom to live and
profess their faith. This topic could become the subject of dialogue between
Christians and Muslims, a dialogue whose urgency and usefulness was reiterated
by the Synodal Fathers.
The resolutions of the 2010 synod—approved and signed by the Holy Father—will be published
as an apostolic exhortation on the last
day of the Lebanon trip. UPDATE: The apostolic exhortation "Ecclesia in Medio Oriente" was signed by Pope Benedict XVI at the end of the first day of his trip. The official Vatican summary of the document can be read here.