from The Tablet

Church in the World
28 October 2006
Lebanon

Patriarchs seek political stability to halt Christian exodus
Michael Hirst

The Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient have said that Christian emigration from the Middle East can only be stemmed by establishing political stability in the region.

The psychological impact of living in a volatile environment in poor economic and social conditions could lead to paranoia, the patriarchs said in a statement after a meeting outside Beirut last Friday, and this was a major factor behind many Christians choosing to flee their homes.

Alarmed by the drastically dwindling number of Christians in Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, Iraq and the wider region, the patriarchs said that Eastern rite Christian Churches acted as a bridge between Western Christianity and Islam. This, the patriarchs said, created a link for dialogue between the faiths that must not be broken.

“Our message is in the first place that of safeguarding co-existence in the face of aggravating conflict of cultures and religions,” said the patriarchs, who included Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir of Beirut, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah of Jerusalem and Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of Baghdad, as well as leaders from the Greek-Melkite, Coptic, Syrian-Catholic and Armenian Catholic Churches.

Calling on Muslim organisations to “vigorously condemn terrorist actions committed, at times, in the name of the Muslim faith", the patriarchs expressed “solidarity with the Islamic world in its efforts to consolidate peace and eradicate violence. We know that the true Islam and the Qur’an are innocent of any violence,” the patriarchs added. “These actions do not only harm Islam, but they also destroy co-existence that has been there for so many generations, especially in Iraq.”

A Christian charity providing aid to war-ravaged southern Lebanon this week appealed to Israel to provide details of where the country dropped a million cluster bombs that have killed more than 20 and are still injuring three civilians a day.

UN mine-clearance teams have been working since the ceasefire to neutralise the threat posed by the devices, which are now caught in the branches of trees, scattered across farmland or playgrounds and roads. They were dropped by the Israeli army during the 34-day war. George Khoury, director of Caritas Lebanon, told The Tablet: “Israel must provide us with detailed maps of where they dropped these bombs so that we can speed up the clearance process and help the local people make it through the winter.”