From khazen.org: we will always stand by our Patriarch His Beatitude Mar Nassrallah Boutros Sfeir , the voice of reason, love and unity. His stands throughout history has proven to be stands of long-term peace, security and long-term coexistence for all communities in Lebanon. We will not tolerate any disrespectful statements towards our Patriarch or attacks from anyone. You can disagree politically, but the message and the goal is one SECURE, Lebanon full of economic growth that our Patriarch who represents the rock of the Maronite Church is seeking for.

News:

Beirut – The number of Christians in Lebanon and the Middle East is declining rapidly because of conflict, regional tensions as well as a persistent economic crisis that drives many to seek the future elsewhere. The issue is one of great concern for the Catholic Church, as Benedict XVI has said on several occasions, the latest during his visit to Cyprus, and an issue that  Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir raised during his meetings yesterday in France.

Cardinal Sfeir raised the matter during his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who shares the view that the presence of Christians in the Middle East is a guarantee against intolerance.

“The emigration of young Lebanese must be stopped,” the patriarch said later during a press briefing with reporters. “They cannot be blamed for leaving in search of work. But whilst those who go to Arab countries can come back, it is harder for those who go to Australia or Canada.”

By G.G. LaBELLE For The Associated Press
 

Lebanon has been conquered and colonized many times over in the last three millennia. Among the famous invaders: Alexander the Great, Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and the Muslim warrior Saladin.

Others include Persians, Romans, Egyptians, Christian Crusaders, Ottoman Turks, the French and English in World War I and, more recently, Israelis. Lebanon’s rival Christians and Muslims also upset the peace, most notably in the 1975-90 civil war.

Many invaders left monuments and other remnants of their civilizations that can be visited in day trips from Lebanon’s urbane capital, Beirut. You can go east to the Roman ruins at Baalbek, north to the Crusader-era Citadel of Raymond de Saint-Gilles that looms over the city of Tripoli, south to the much fought-over Beaufort fortress, or northeast to the towering Cedars of Lebanon, and be back in Beirut in time for dinner. Lebanon is a tiny country — 135 miles long and about 50 miles wide — and all of these sites are within 60 miles of Beirut.

The National Museum in Beirut is a good place to get a picture of the parade of conquerors who’ve marched in and out. Artifacts run from prehistoric stone tools to statuary, coins, jewelry and mosaics from the bronze and iron ages, the Greek and Roman eras, and Byzantine and Arab rule.

Jabail-Byblos, 22 miles north of Beirut on the Mediterranean coast, offers an example of how archaeological sites in Lebanon often contain layers of history as one conqueror supplanted another. Here you will find a variety of ruins from the Persian, Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Crusader eras. The sarcophagus of a king, Ahiram, who died around 1000 B.C., has an inscription in Phoenician linear script, the father of alphabets. But there are also Byzantine-era mosaics from 2,000 years later.

Another example is Beaufort Castle, 47 miles southeast of Beirut, which sits atop a cliff about 2,000 feet above sea level in southern Lebanon, commanding a view into both Israel and Syria. The Crusader king Fulk seized the fortification in 1139, Saladin took it back for the Muslims in 1189, and the Israeli army captured it from Palestinian guerrillas in 1982

النائب الخازن: زيارة الحريري لسوريا مهمة لتثبيت الثقة وتمتين العلاقة التحرك الدولي في اتجاه لبنان ضروري لمواجهة التهديدات الاسـرائيلية

المركزية– شدد عضو تكتل التغيير والاصلاح النائب فريد الخازن على أهمية أن يتواصل لبنان مع محيطه العربي وان يثبت حضوره على الساحة الدولية في مواجهة التهديدات الاسرائيلية". 
ولفت الى أن زيارة رئيس الحكومة سعد الحريري لسوريا خطوة مهمة على طريق تثبيت الثقة وتمتين العلاقة بين البلدين".  
ولاحظ في حديث الى "المركزية" وجود تشكيك في ما يتعلق بالعلاقات اللبنانية – السورية يترافق مع تصريحات وتأويلات وقراءات مضخمة وقال: العلاقات اللبنانية – السورية في مرحلة إعادة التأسيس بعد التوتر الذي سادها والأحداث التي حصلت بعد العام 2005 وزيارة الرئيس الحريري للمملكة العربية السعودية وسوريا وبعدها لمصر والأردن طبيعية تدخل في إطار الزيارات التي يقوم بها رئيس الحكومة ورئيس الجمهورية العماد ميشال سليمان لعدد من دول العالم في الشرق والغرب. 
واعتبر الخازن أن "زيارة الرئيس الحريري لسوريا خطوة مهمة لتثبيت الثقة وتمتين العلاقة بين البلدين وهي جاءت استكمالا للزيارة الأولى ولم تأخذ الطابع العملي في انتظار الزيارة المرتقبة للرئيس الحريري مع الوفد الوزاري لدمشق لمناقشة الاتفاقات المعقودة بين البلدين". 
وشدد على أن "المرحلة التي سادت قبل العام 2005 بتفاصيلها الداخلية والاقليمية والدولية انتهت الى غير رجعة والجانبان اللبناني والسوري لا يرغبان في إحيائها، وبالتالي التواصل والتشاور أمر مفيد للبنان ولتطوير العلاقات.  

By BASSEM MROUE, May 2010. Associated Press

The Lebanese immigrant who won the Miss USA 2010 pageant comes from a family that stood out for its tolerance in a religiously divided country, relatives said Monday. Rima Fakih, 24, was born into a powerful Shiite family in a village in southern Lebanon that was heavily bombed during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. But she and her sister said the family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths and prefer to be referred to as Lebanese, Arabs or Arab-Americans. "We don’t take sides and this is strange in a country like Lebanon," Rana Fakih said, referring to the civil war that was mainly between Muslims and Christians. Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Michigan, beat out 50 other women to take the 2010 Miss USA title Sunday night at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown.Her sister said the new Miss USA was born in their southern village of Srifa, near the port-city of Tyre, after her parents could not reach their home near Beirut because of heavy fighting during the 1975-90 civil war. She then attended the Catholic Saint Rita school near Beirut and immigrated with her family to the U.S. in 1993.

For pictures of Rima the new miss usa from Lebanese origins please click "read more"

I – Crucifiez-la !
mercredi, mai 12, 2010
 
Par P. Mansour LABAKY
Jamais l’Église n’a été autant malmenée par les médias. Je suis membre et fils de cette Église. Je me sens donc concerné. Je suis solidaire d’elle en tout. Je suis si fier de la manière avec laquelle notre Saint-Père le pape a fait face en bon et vrai berger. L’intérêt de cet acharnement médiatique est qu’il permet à chacun d’avoir un regard objectif sur tout ce qui s’écrit et de se forger une opinion claire et vraie sur l’Église en tant qu’épouse mystique du Christ et en tant qu’institution humaine.
Il est vrai que ce que certains prêtres pédophiles ont commis est non seulement affreux, infâme, humiliant et impardonnable, mais est un crime contre l’enfance. Même le Christ, qui nous exhorte à pardonner à nos ennemis, ne trouve pas de circonstances atténuantes à ceux qui scandalisent « l’un de ces petits ». Il va même jusqu’à exiger qu’on les jette au fond de la mer, une meule accrochée au cou. Je n’ai donc pas la prétention d’être plus clément que la Clémence personnifiée.
Mais, sans jouer les Tartuffe et en toute honnêteté et humilité, essayons de réfléchir sur quelques points qui pourraient nous aider à être objectifs dans nos jugements et à ne pas jeter le bébé avec l’eau du bain :
– La société est formée de gens bien portants et de gens malades, d’où le besoin d’hôpitaux et de médecins. Les prêtres font partie de la société et, parmi eux, il y a aussi des malades qui doivent se faire soigner. La pédophilie est une maladie, comme le cancer, qui a besoin d’être soignée. Les prêtres pédophiles ne le sont pas devenus après avoir été ordonnés, ils portaient ce mal avant. L’Église sera désormais plus prudente dans le discernement des vocations et évitera – autant que faire se peut – les déviances.

Written By Malek el Khazen     In one of your Last Week News introduction, in response of the Patriarch of Antioch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir comments on the incident that occurred in the Bekaa, you accused the Patriarch of triggering, supporting and legitimizing the actions of citizens attacking the army, which is not a […]