NNA - Under the patronage of Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, the “Inmaa Maad - Maadi Family University” Association launched the "Maronite National Conference" in cooperation with the Maronite League, the Maronite Gathering for Lebanon, and the Permanent Christian Conference, during a ceremony held at Majestic Byblos Grand Hotel in Jbeil, in the presence of prominent politicians, members of government and parliament, and senior partisans and officials.
Addressing the attendees, Patriarch al-Rahi praised the joint efforts to hold the conference and ensure its success, considering that it comes at the right time to help us re-learn our Lebanese identity, and describing it as "a march to preserve Lebanon in its distinctive entity, its characteristics, its mission in this East, and its impact on the global level.”
Al-Rahi recalled Saint Pope John Paul II's beckoning words of “A New Hope for Lebanon,” which he signed in Beirut on May 10, 1997, considering Lebanon as a "cradle of an ancient culture and one of the beacons of the Mediterranean". He also paid tribute to the significant role that Byblos played in ancient history in being the city of the first alphabet, adding that "in the spirit of this pontifical testimony, the Maronite National Conference begins."
The Patriarch continued to highlight the distinguished stature of Lebanon in being "a state with no religion of its own," but rather "a state that respects all religions and sects, guarantees the freedom to perform religious rituals under its protection, and guarantees to people of all faiths respect for the personal status system and religious interests.”
"In Lebanon, a basic rule is coexistence between Christians and Muslims, with equality in rights and duties. This rule is not based on numbers, but rather on equal partnership in governance and administration between Christians, in all their sects, and Muslims, in all their sects," al-Rahi emphasized.
He added: "In an Arab and Levantine environment where there is unilateralism in religion, party, and opinion, Lebanon is distinguished by cultural and religious pluralism within the framework of national unity based on three components: equality in governance and administration, the republican-democratic parliamentary political system, and public freedoms, foremost of which is freedom of opinion and belief."
However, al-Rahi regretted that these features which rendered Lebanon a “precious cultural value", a "cultural, economic, and social bridge between East and West", and a "place for dialogue and convergence of religions," have unfortunately been distorted over the past thirty years.
The Patriarch referred to a blatant violation of the Constitution, particularly apparent in failing to elect a President of the Republic, without any justification, except for the open goals of eliminating the only Maronite Christian president in this East, as he explained.
"This Maronite National Conference came at its right time, as a means of re-knowing our Lebanese self and our responsibility," al-Rahi went on, stressing that Lebanon and its cultural values are a responsibility we shoulder, adding that we must be committed to recovering its essence of positive neutrality and being a peace mediator, a pioneer of dialogue and convergence, and a defender of the rights of peoples, most prominently the Palestinians.
"Lebanon cannot fulfill this role and mission if it enters into regional or international wars and conflicts," the Patriarch underscored.
=========R.Sh.
