Khazen.org offer its support to the Office of the Lebanese Presidency:
1- We support the Lebanese Presidency and its rights to defend and uphold the Lebanese Constitution. The key for the Lebanese presidency to be a real arbitrator, is for the office to be effectively represented in the Lebanese government. For president Suleiman to be able to follow the constitution and to be a real arbitrator as it is intended and clear, it is the right of this office to have ministers representing him or else he will not be able to be a real arbitrator as the constitution calls for it .
2- The Lebanese Constitution is very clear, the President Issue the decree appointing the prime minister independently. On agreement with the prime minister, issue the decree forming the cabinet. President Suleiman responsibility and role from the constitution is to sign the formation of the government, that will be able to govern independently and represent the interest of Lebanon. Only president Suleiman has the right to decide what kind of government he will support where as an arbitrator he feels it will serve best interest of the Lebanese nation.
3- We support the President as the commander in chef of all of the Armed Forces. Regardless of the unfortunate event of what has happened in the Telecommunication Ministry, and the intention of the Minister Charbel Nahas, we can ask many questions. Why now? Was it necessary? Why not when the government when he took in charge the ministry? All of these questions we may never find the answer, but one important factor, the President of the Republic because of his unique leadership as Preserving the constitution, has saved Lebanon an additional time by preventing any fights!. And we salute our President as the Commander in Chief of all of the Armed forces! Unfortunately Rifi has shown poor judgement, regardles of why he was there when the Interior Minister Baroud request him to leave, his duty is to leave! And because of disrespecting the Lebanese laws and constitution we request his case to be followed within the Lebanese Justice and for his direct resignation from Head of the internal security forces. He is not fit anymore to be able to control ISF when he takes political stands; This is not a political position!
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Khazen.org offer its complete support to our Maronite Patriarch, our father, the Hope of Lebanon. His opinions are sacred. He is the voice of the Lebanese. What we need is a government that serve the interest of the people and not a government specialized in foreign relation as they have been building for the last 5 years and our youth are leaving Lebanon. We pray for the very quick formation of the Lebanese government, where our politicians will think less about their own interest and how to create larger parties but rather think more about the Lebanese people their pain, ecnomical suffering and uncertainty. As our Patriarch and President are seeking requesting, a government that will be able to govern freely, prevent conflicts, increase economical prosperity, jobs and create new programs to boost business, education, heath programs and investments.
khazen.org prays for the Christians of the Middle East, especially for the Christians of Egypt and Iraq being persecuted. And all of the minorities in the Middle-East going through an uncertain future. There are no words that we can use to describe these atrocities against the Christians. We hope for the leaders of these countries and of the Free world to act quickly. We also request for the leaders of these countries to create a long term plan and not only a superficial plan as they have been creating for the last 30 years. Every citizen have the right to live in peace and freely and these communities are here to stay. These leaders will need to educate their communities in accepting the others, non-violence and invest in schools and economy.
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai appealed Sunday for a swift formation of a new government, saying the inexplicable delay was ruining the country “I take this opportunity to make this appeal from the heart: Enough, Enough, enough,” Rai told reporters at Beirut’s airport before flying to Rome for a meeting at the Vatican. “Enough procrastination, and enough paralysis in our Lebanese life. We are sitting on the top of a volcano because of what is going on in the Arab world.” Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati’s four-month-old efforts to form a Cabinet have yet to succeed despite some progress over the past week. The main hurdle remains Christian representation in the government.“All the people demands that we have a government,” Rai said. “We can’t understand this delay. We have said before that the delay in forming the Cabinet is ruinous, it is destroying the state and suppressing the citizens.
Vatican City – Focusing on youth formation and returning to "proclaim and live the" Good News, with the same spirit of the early Christians: these are Benedict XVI’s recommendations to Lebanese Catholics, in his address to the new Maronite Patriarch Béchara Boutros Raï, received together with the delegation that accompanied him to Rome for the concession of ecclesial communion, following his election by the Maronite Synod.
The Pope, who underscored the presence Card. Nasrallah Sfeir, predecessor of the current patriarch, praising his 25 years of service to the Church "in the midst of the turmoil of history”. Speaking to the 77th leader of the Maronite Church he said that "since you are in the heart of the Middle East, you have an immense mission", to "propose the Gospel to people who know little about it or who have moved away from the Church. " "With all the vital forces present in Lebanon and the Middle East this means" witnessing and living in communion with the Word of life to rediscover the zeal of the early believers. "
"This region of the world, blessed by the presence and preaching of patriarchs, prophets, apostles and of Christ himself, aspires to the lasting peace that the Word of life, accepted and lived, has the ability to establish".
"You must pursue this goal through the human and spiritual, moral and intellectual education of young people, thanks to your schools and catechism classes, of which I know the quality. I very much hope that your role in their formation is increasingly recognized by society, so that the core values are transmitted, without discrimination, so that today's young people "become responsible men and women within their families and society, to build greater solidarity and fraternity among all components of the nation. "
May Lebanon remain a free and pluralistic country! That’s the hope the new Lebanese Patriarch of the Maronite Church who is watching the current unrest in the region with concern.
Patriarch Bechara Rai expressed his concerns to Pope Benedict in his first audience since he was elected leader of the Maronite Church of Antioch in March. In his words to the new patriarch, Pope Benedict reiterated the urgency of proposing "the Gospel to those who do not know it well or have moved away from the Church” and to help the local faithful “to rediscover the enthusiasm of the first Christians.”
Formerly a director of the Arabic program for 12 years at Vatican Radio, Patriarch Rai spoke to me ahead of his audience with the Holy Father. Tracey McClure asked him if he fears the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa might in some way spill over into Lebanon...
Speaking in Italian, Patriarch Rai said “Of course we are worried. There could be consequences for Lebanon because we do not know where these protests are going. Lebanon is the place of freedom of expression and the place where all religions are represented; one does not assimilate another.” (And Lebanon is a place) “where there are differences of opinion and the political pluralism of parties. If these regimes of the Arab world were to become tougher,” he said, “it would be the Christians of these countries who would pay! Christians would be the first victims…”
Pope John Paul II often spoke of Lebanon as a model of coexistence among Christians, Muslims and Druze. The nation’s constitution guarantees the political and civil rights of all of its 18 different confessions. The President is always a Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni and the Speaker of the House a Shiite. Despite the turmoil in countries surrounding Lebanon, Patriarch Rai expressed his belief that its model of pluralism would not be at risk. “I don’t think so because the Lebanese - all the Lebanese: Muslims and Christians – attach great importance to this coexistence: all of them,” he says. “However, if Christians continue to emigrate in ever greater numbers, Lebanon’s political system will be conditioned by this, also demographically. In fact, if the demographics of Christians were to drop significantly, then even their representation will change. It will no longer be balanced, that is, 50-50. Perhaps it will be 75-25, or perhaps it will tend to disappear. But we hope to be able to preserve our presence and maintain our numbers, demographically as well.”
But in recent years, political divisions among Christians in Lebanon have risen dramatically, often exacerbated by bitter rhetoric. In an attempt to help heal animosities, Patriarch Rai has spoken with Christian political leaders and particularly with Maronite political leaders. “If you ask them: ‘do you all agree on the national principles?’ They all will all say ‘yes.’ To the question: ‘is your objective to preserve the Christian presence in Lebanon so that this country represents a guarantee for you?’ They answer ‘yes.’” (If you ask them) if diversification among Christians is consistent with political choices, again they answer ‘yes.’
Patriarch Rai said he was pleased that Christian political leaders have accepted his invitation to a Holy Week spiritual retreat at the Patriarchal palace just north of Beirut to “listen to the Word of God” and to dialogue.
He says he invited them to talk with each other, urging them to “complement” each other. “Why be enemies?” he asked. “We are in a democratic country and this means that we have to respect the opinions of the other.”
He urged them to avoid advocating their personal opinions as the best choices, thus “continuing to create animosity as you are doing now.”
He explained that the political leaders will listen to two homilies and during the breaks “we will discuss the political options of each faction.” “They were pleased,” the Patriarch said, “and they responded positively to the invitation.”
The Maronite Patriarch is engaging Muslim leaders in Lebanon in a parallel dialogue. “At the national level,” he said, “ Muslims have asked for an Islamic-Christian summit to be held at the seat of the Patriarchate, something the Muslims themselves requested.” He said he expected that the meeting issue a joint declaration on the principles that unite the two faiths.
In this time of instability for Lebanon, the Partriach called on the “universal Church, through the Holy See” to advocate on behalf of Lebanon’s Christians. “We will do our job internally, amongst ourselves, as the Church on the Catholic-ecumenical level, in interreligious dialogue… (and) we will do our best to dialogue with local governments.”
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In his remarks to the visiting Lebanese prelate, Pope Benedict underlined the need to proclaim the message of the Gospel in the Middle East, where the world’s Maronite Catholics are concentrated. The Pontiff said that it is vital to maintain an active Christian presence in that region, and to “rediscover the enthusiasm of the first Christians.”
Speaking about the challenges that face the Catholic Church in the Middle East, the Pope offered a short summary of the message of last year’s special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East:
This region of the world which the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and Christ Himself blessed with their presence and their teaching, aspires to the lasting peace that the Word of Truth, welcomed and shared, is able to establish.
