More and more Christians are leaving their Country

Only a Maronite Christian can be the President of Lebanon

When the weapons are silenced in Lebanon, only its heart will be heard beating for the unity of it's homeland - said Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, the personal representative of our Pontiff, Benedict XVI in Lebanon, after the conflicts between the Hezbollah and Israel last year at the end of July. In his statement - which was just one of many dispatched to the Christians of Lebanon - Cardinal Etchegaray once again proved the refined sensitivity of the Vatican towards this multiethnic country. Pope John Paul II, who had visited this country twice during his life, pointed to Lebanon in many of his talks as a remarkable example of tolerance, coexistence and dialogue among numerous ethnic and religious groups. Unfortunately the geopolitical situation of the country, which is in the focus of world politics, and it's plan for the establishment of a new Near East, increasingly puts an end to what Pope John Paul II claimed to be a model for numerous Christians worldwide.

Due to the frequent wars and accompanying atrocities, the demographic image of Lebanon changes from year to year, and today there are only 30% Catholics living there on less than 25% of the territory. Up till the beginning of the 1970s there were 35 – 40% Christians living in Lebanon , and after the civil war broke out in 1975, numerous religious groups left the country because of the political instability. Among them, more than 10% were Christian. Last year as well, after the July war between Hezbollah and Israel , 500 thousand Christians left their homeland forever. Over this period of about 20 years the Christians vanished from the Beqaa valley, from the north and south of Lebanon , from the Chouff region, and even from the eastern part of the city of Sidon , where they had always been autochthonous. Yet the history of Christians today in Lebanon reaches all the way back to the time of the Crusades, when the cities of Beirut, Tripoli and Sidon gave way under years of siege by the Crusaders (between the 11th and the 13th centuries).

Up till the end of the first World War, Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire , and only in the second half of the 19th century did the Sultan grant autonomy under pressure from western countries. At that time there were 51% Christians living there, the Christian Maronites who were related closely to the Catholic Church were the most significant. The centuries of coexistence between Christians and other religions in the country located on the Mediterranean coast developed the level of tolerance in their politics too, therefore the present Lebanese Parliament is composed of all religious and ethnic groups without exception, and the President can only be a Christian Maronite.

The full article can be found on pages 50-51 of Vol 2
2007 issue.