By DIAA HADID
BEIRUT — Amid Syria’s ferocious civil war, a nun has emerged as an unlikely power broker and figure of controversy.
Mother Superior Agnes-Mariam of the Cross is seen by Supporters her as a brave truth-teller, and she reflects the fears of many Syrians who worry that hard-line Muslim rebels trying to overthrow Assad will make life intolerable for Christians and other minorities. The nun insists she is not an Assad propagandist, describing his family’s decades-long hold over Syria as a "tumor," but she saves her harshest criticism for the rebels. "The rebels presented themselves as the doctor who will remove this tumor," she said in a recent Skype interview. "They imposed arms as a treatment, and it is killing Syria."
Agnes-Mariam, 61, was born Fadia Laham in Lebanon to Palestinian Christian refugees. In the social upheaval of the ’60s, Laham was a self-described hippie and trekked to Nepal on what she called a spiritual journey that led her to Catholicism. She moved to Syria two decades ago, establishing a new order within the Greek Catholic Church, The Unity of Antioch, and founded the St. James convent 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Damascus.
The nun was skeptical of the 2½-year-old Syrian uprising from the start. She claimed much of the footage of anti-Assad demonstrations posted to social media networks was faked, along with video of Syrian forces beating and killing protesters
The Syrian government heavily restricts foreign reporting on the fighting. But Agnes-Mariam organized pro-government media tours, using her connections to obtain visas for journalists.
Women refugees from Syria are being sexually harassed by employers, landlords and others in Lebanon, adding another layer of suffering for those who have fled their homes in search of safety, an international human rights watchdog said Wednesday. In a report, Human Rights Watch said most of the incidents have gone unreported to local authorities […]
Pope Francis has named Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi as a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday. The Maronite Patriarchate’s secretariat said al-Rahi was appointed on November 9, noting that he will occupy the post for a period of five years. According to the secretariat, the Congregation’s […]
Pope Tawadros II and Pope Francis meet to discuss the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.
CA (Catholic Online) – Pope Francis, in meeting with leaders of several Eastern rites said, "Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other areas of the Holy Land sometimes overflow with tears. We won’t resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians who for two thousand years confess the name of Jesus, as full citizens in social, cultural, and religious life of the nations to which they belong."
Pope Francis reinforced his support for persecuted Christians everywhere, especially in the Middle East where Muslim majorities routinely persecute them. For some conservative, extremist Muslims, the choice is simple. Convert and pay or die. There is no dialogue between Christians and Muslims of this stripe, just as lambs and wolves have no concord.
President Michel Suleiman on Monday stressed that “the simplest rules of democracy oblige everyone to acknowledge and accept the results” of elections, following a standoff between rival students at Universite Saint Joseph in Beirut. Suleiman held phone talks with caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, Army chief General Jean Qahwaji, USJ president Father Salim Daccache and […]
The United States released $8 billion in frozen assets to Iran on Sunday in a move meant to ensure Tehran’s compliance with a nuclear pact signed over the weekend, according to top Iranian officials. Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht confirmed on Monday morning that the U.S. government had unfrozen $8 billion in assets that […]
In the mid 18th century, Cheikh Kanaan Kayss el Khazen from the house of Cheikh Abou Nawfal el Khazen from Ajaltoun, built a church to honor Mar Abda the bishop of Babel in Bakaatit Kanaan. Cheikh Abou Nawfal’s brother Bishop Toubia el Khazen, who later on became a Patriarch, then took it upon himself to […]
In the middle of the 18th century, the sons of Cheikh Abou Khattar Fadel el Khazen built a church to honor Saint Michael in Bkaatouta. The church remained under the patronage of the Khazens.
President Michel Suleiman received on Saturday cables from U.S. President Barack Obama, British Premier David Cameron, and a number of world leaders on the occasion of Independence Day. Obama expressed to Suleiman his country’s commitment to supporting the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in order to put an end to impunity. He also said that the […]
Des jihadistes ont coupé un chêne vieux de 150 ans à Atmé, ville du nord de la Syrie à la frontière turque, après avoir accusé les habitants de le vénérer, a-t-on appris vendredi auprès d’une source pro-jihadiste et d’une ONG. "Merci Dieu tout puissant, l’arbre âgé de plus de 150 ans a été enlevé, après […]
