Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Lebanon next month will go ahead as scheduled, the Vatican said on Monday, despite tensions in the country linked to the raging conflict in Syria. "The preparations for the visit are going ahead without any uncertainty on the part of the Vatican," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters. Lombardi cited as […]

  Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani hoped on Monday that the Lebanese are aware of the impending dangers of divisions among them. Qabbani hoped that all Lebanese would become aware of the looming dangers resulting from their divisions because division is the cause of strife, the National News Agency said. It said the Mufti made his […]

Antioch, Turkey, Aug 19, 2012 / 05:04 pm (CNA).- Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai of Antioch, the head of the Maronite Catholic Church, has warned that the armed conflict in Syria is affecting neighboring Lebanon and could trigger a major conflict in the country.

“The civil war in Syria between the Sunni majority and the Alawite minority has already begun to have an impact on the Sunnis and Alawites in north Lebanon, in Tripoli and Akkar,” he told Aid to the Church in Need.

The Lebanese are split into “supporters of the Assad regime and supporters of the opposition,” he said. The ongoing political conflict between Lebanon’s anti-Assad Sunnis and the pro-Assad Shiites will “become more pronounced due to the events in Syria.”

In response, he urged Lebanese Christians to become “more united” and meet their responsibilities.

“After all, based on their culture and mental attitude they always strive for peace, progress and the values of modernity. They love peace and fight for justice,” he said. “They are willing to live together and cooperate with Muslims, without prejudices and ulterior motives.”

For 17 months, rebels opposed to the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad have battled government forces in a conflict that has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

Rebel forces have advanced on the airport of the strategic city Aleppo and have been fighting in Damascus.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others are helping arm the rebels, the Associated Press reports. The rebel forces include factions of the terrorist group Al Qaida.

Bishop Robert Morlino Affirms Paul Ryan’s Effort to Apply Catholic Social Teaching

CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) – Last weekend I attended the Norfolk, Virginia Rally where Mitt Romney introduced Paul Ryan as his running mate. I wrote an article entitled "Romney Goes Bold: Pro-Life Catholic Paul Ryan Chosen as Republican Vice Presidential Candidate." I suggested that some would quickly attempt to spin the positions of this good man as inconsistent with Catholic Social teaching.

By Monday the effort had begun. Hecklers at the Iowa State Fair demanded that Paul Ryan "stop the war on the poor". The same phrase hecklers used on April 26, 2012 when the Congressman gave an address at Georgetown University. At Georgetown he said "there are some Catholics who for a long time have thought they had a monopoly of sorts. not exactly on heaven, but on the social teaching of our Church.Simply put, I do not believe that the preferential option for the poor means a preferential option for big government." For many on the left, those were fighting words.

In June of 2011 Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Congressman Paul Ryan exchanged letters. The Congressman explained the rationale behind his economic proposals within the framework of a sincere effort to apply the principles found within Catholic Social Thought. He cited the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church throughout the letter referring to both the obligation of solidarity and its application in light of the principle of subsidiarity.

I suggested that the exchange of letters signaled the liberation of Catholic Social Thought from some who seek to use it as a proof text for their own political agendas. Now, Paul Ryan is the nominee of the Republican Party for the second highest office in the Nation, Vice President. The liberation has begun. This man not only knows Catholic Social Doctrine, he actively seeks to integrate the principles it offers into his own public service and the policy proposals he offers.

    ترأس البطريرك الماروني مار بشارة بطرس الراعي قداس الاحد في الصرح البطريركي الصيفي في الديمان، عاونه فيه المطرانان بولس الصياح وحنا علوان والخوري جبرايل شعنين، وخدمته جوقة رعية رشدبين، في حضور حشد من المؤمنين من مختلف المناطق والبلدات .  بعد الانجيل المقدس، ألقى البطريرك الراعي عظة الأحد الثالث عشر من زمن العنصرة – […]

  The U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Friday again warned its citizens of “an increased possibility of attacks” against them in Lebanon and announced the suspension of the Fulbright and English Language Fellow programs. “The U.S. Embassy has received reports of an increased possibility of attacks against U.S. citizens in Lebanon. Possible threats include kidnapping, the […]

  BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman asked France Friday to work with Turkey in resolving the case of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria two months ago, during a visit by French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius to Beirut. According to Sleiman’s press office, the president asked Fabius during their meeting Friday to work with the […]

  Air France passengers on a flight which was diverted from Beirut and landed instead in Damascus were asked at one point to chip in and help pay to refuel the plane, a passenger said on Thursday. "We went down in Syria where there were lots of soldiers… We thought there were some problems and that […]