File3text19
The
Introduction
1. The Maronites’ experience in politics is one of the oldest and most diverse and comprehensive among those of the Christians of the East. The role of the Maronites in their direct involvement in politics is discerned on three levels: within the ecclesiastical framework, under the patronage of the Maronite Patriarchate; at the level of politicians, especially the influential; and, at the common, public level. This involvement in politics started a few centuries before the establishment of the State of
2. Freedom, which is religiously and socially ingrained in Maronites, was a factor of reassurance to openness toward internal and external trends and currents which were often contradictory, culturally and politically. However, in some stages of alarm and anxiety, this freedom has shriveled, forming a negative factor pulling their progress toward withdrawal and recession. Openness to the world provided Maronites with an unrestrained vision, magnanimous and international affiliation, for the purpose of interconnection with diverse countries, cultures and civilizations in the quest for knowledge. As freedom was a factor of openness, internally, that is, toward others, Maronites participated in the propagation of education and knowledge and in making fundamental choices which had the greatest of impacts on our national life.
3. When we talk about the Church and politics, we mean: firstly, the Church as a religious authority engaging in politics; and secondly, the Maronite sons and daughters of the Church with their different affiliations and orientations, in
The fluctuating relationship between the
Chapter One:
The Historical Journey
First: The Imperial Era
4. The Apostolic Exhortation A New Hope for Lebanon states: “The Church is in the image of her Master: she is a divine and a human reality, living in time and space, with all what ensues in historical, geographical, social and cultural accommodation. She is rooted in that tangible reality to which she owes the special features of her countenance and her distinctive character….”[1] Some Churches were heavily present in temporal affairs, such as the Latin Church, which assumed responsibility for her people in the absence of the Roman State, after the Barbarian invaded and destroyed what was called the Western Roman Empire. Other Churches did not feel the need to assume such an endeavor, as the
5. However, the
6. Following the fall of
7. Since the Lebanese mountain was void of any political organization, away from political life and religious conflicts in the
8. The Maronites remained in this stronghold for a period of time that may be divided into phases: the first phase being from the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth, till the end of the eleventh century. This phase was characterized by seclusion and adjustment to the rocky Lebanese landscape, throughout four centuries ending with the resumption of communication with
9. The third phase was the epoch of the Ottoman rule, spanning over four more centuries, basing itself on the Islamic caliphate represented by the sultans of
10. When the Ottoman state became displeased with the emirs of the ‘Assaf family and with their aides from the Hobeish family, they endeavored to gradually eliminate them, replacing them with the princes of the Bani Sayfa family. The latter, too, were from the Turkmen tribes, brought in by the Ottoman state to protect the shores. However, they used to rule according to the Shari’a, and not according to civil convention. During that period, the Maronite migration toward the southern regions of Mount Lebanon coincided with their contact with
11. Under the two Emirates, the Maronites gained influence and spread inland, trying to break the second encirclement, that of ignorance. The first cultural and educational act was the founding of the
12. The stage of the two Qa’im-maqamias from 1842 till 1860 was a time of harsh trial during which conspiracies were woven from inside and outside, especially between the Ottoman and British empires, which ended with the tragedy of 1860 in the Druze Qa’im-maqamia, consequently leading to the emigration of many citizens to the far West. Throughout that time, and during the severe tribulations, the Maronites never forgot their folk proverb: “Those who have no homeland have no religion.” Thus, they overcame the events of 1860, shunned grudges, and since the declaration of the Moutasarrifiya regime, cooperated anew with the Druze to make a success of the experience of mutual coexistence between them and the other denominations in
13. Under the Moutasarrifiya regime, which constituted the political, legal and geographic nucleus of the State of Greater Lebanon, the Maronites returned to their experience with Fakhreddin, that is, to their choice of openness toward the other, mutual coexistence and propagating education, reaching the depths of civil societies, and the necessity of returning Lebanese lands to what they were under the previous expansion. They made claims on the seaports and the territories alongside the mountain. They did so out of patriotism, disregarding narrow sectarian considerations, since large parts of the population of those regions were Muslims. Nevertheless, the choice of openness and communication was not always unanimous among and around the Maronites. Their unification endeavor did not materialize until after First World War I, in the aftermath of the collapse of the
14. On the first of September, 1920, their dream was fulfilled with the declaration of the State of
Secondly: The Modern Period, from 1920 until the Present
15. In the pre-State period, the Maronites entered the world of politics through two doors: the Maronite Patriarchate, and the politicians from among the influential notables of the imperial era. With the coming of the State in the twenties of the last century, new political leaderships emerged, some of whom entered politics via political parties and others via public institutions, in addition, of course, to the Church represented by the Patriarchate as a political and spiritual authority on both the community and national levels. Partisanship is old in the Maronite milieu crystallizing after the birth of the modern State through the formation of political parties with diverse orientations and objectives. These parties contributed to the enriching of political life inside and outside Parliament, particularly before the outbreak of the Lebanese War in the mid-seventies.
16. All through their political journey, the Maronites of Lebanon and in communities of the Countries of Expansion have always taken initiatives contributing to the crystallization of the foundational stages in the modern history of Lebanon: in the establishment of the Moutasarrifiyyat regime in 1861; the rise of the modern state in the early nineteen-twenties; the realization of independence simultaneously with the declaration of the National Pact in 1943; the restoration of national unity after the wars of 1958 and 1975; the establishing of a political regime and a liberal economy that set Lebanon apart from the authoritarian regimes in the Arab environment. In other words, since the seventeenth century the Maronites have been in a continuously ascending movement in the political concern (and the economic, social and cultural affairs), not only at the level of influence only, but also at the level of the initiative and the movement of interconnection with others internally and externally.
1.
17. The concurrence of independence and the National Pact is a purely Lebanese national product creating a passage toward the historical resolution of a dilemma accompanying the formation of the State whose imprint is moderation and realism. The goal was to find a formula for the banding together of the different Lebanese communities. The National Pact is in fact a lifetime project. Its broad lines were schematized in 1943, not because the Lebanese had all agreed on all raised issues, but because they had agreed upon a formula based on real sharing built on concord, equality and balance. In this manner, the internal dimension of the Pact would become secure, because it maintained an equation of apportioning quotas for confessional representation in the new formula resolved before the declaration of independence. Furthermore, this formula deals in a fundamental way with the external dimension of the Pact, that is, independence from the French mandate, matched by an Arab recognition of the existence of the independent State of Lebanon.
18. The external, and more specifically, the regional dimension of the Pact, was the one more prone to fluctuations and relapses, because it did not depend on the Lebanese alone, even if they were to agree, but entailed the issue of the relationship of Lebanon with its Arab environment, particularly during times of acute regional crises. It was an environment that has been searching for its own identity with the ending of Ottoman rule. Its situation grew ever more complicated in the fifties with the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, when Palestinian refugees came to dwell in
19. The Arab regimes asserted the matter of their Arabism through numerous means. Some resorted to ideological slogans and others resorted to religion.
2. The Period between 1958 and the Outbreak of the War
20. The events of 1958 have shaken the internal stability of the country and was the first actual relapse affecting the National Pact. The Shehab period came to restore national cohesion, through an attempt at activating public institutions and to launch reform and development programs embracing all confessions and regions. Thus the Shehabi endeavor was a realistic and moderate conditioning of the National Pact, a driving force behind a large scale administrative reform, and a serious effort in the direction of a balanced social and economic development. However, the abuse of power on the part of some security apparatus had a great effect in tarnishing the credibility of the Shehab rule, and the return of fear and anxiety. As a result, sectarian alliances were formed, rapidly indicating their inability to carry on the mission of
21. The Arab-Israeli war of 1967 turned
22. The first military clash between the Lebanese army and the Palestinian organizations, supported by some Lebanese parties and a number of Arab states, occurred in 1969, resulting in an unprecedented governmental crisis lasting seven months. The crisis did not end until after the signing of the Cairo Agreement which allowed the Palestinian organizations to enter into military confrontation with
23. These developments created grounds for the war which broke out on April 13, 1975. From beginning to end, this war was a series of intertwined internal and regional wars, in which the Lebanese and the Palestinians directly participated, in addition to
24. Another issue surfaced causing division in
25. At the level of Maronite positions toward the modification of the governmental structure, they had two positions: one was opposing any constitutional amendment aimed at weakening the authority of the President of the Republic; the other, more accommodating to the proposed modifications and to an adjustment to the facts of reality. The entanglement of issues raised in the seventies created the problem of the ability of the Maronite political currents to bring about the required change to meet the long list of wide ranging demands varying from political reform to support of the Palestinian organizations, passing through calling for a regime change. This also obscured the meaning of
26. Despite all that,
3. The War Years[6]
27. The war broke out lasting fifteen years producing losses unprecedented in the modern history of
Chapter Two:
The Post War and the Ta’if Accord Stage
28. This tragic situation forced the
29. The preamble of the Ta’if Accord settled the debate over the nature of the social contract between the Lebanese, considering that conviviality is at the foundations of this contract and that there is no legitimacy for any authority contradicting the pact of conviviality. It also defined the Lebanese regime: one
30. The Syrian guardianship authority was able to twist the contents of the Ta’if Accord, striking the social contract in the core, thus robbing the government of its power of decision, and emptying politics out of political life. It also drew up a programmed targeting plan assuming various aspects: Political Targeting through adopting electoral laws, which do not take into consideration correct representation; Security Targeting affecting a number of political organizations and figures, and the Christian youth in and outside Lebanon; Demographic Targeting by ratifying a naturalization decree in 1994, which granted the Lebanese nationality, all at once, to more than 300,000 people, the majority of whom were non-Christian, and unqualified to receive it, and to holders of other citizenships; and, Media Targeting for the purpose of charging Christians collectively with treason, distorting their image and tarnishing their pioneering role in Lebanon. Probably the most important development introduced into the political pursuit in post-war
31. In the face of the deterioration taking place in the Lebanese situation obstructing progress toward authentic reform, the
32. Many years of toil through word, stand, truth and faith have passed during which the Maronite Church played a major role at the national level, the most distinguished pausing station of which was the famous call of September 20, 2000, following the liberation from Israeli occupation of the South and the Western Bekaa’ on May 23, 2000. This call laid the foundation for putting an end to Syrian guardianship and to recover sovereignty, independence and the free decision. Years went by and
33. The independence uprising, in the wake of Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri’s martyrdom on February 14, 2005, opened the gates of national salvation, when the majority of the Lebanese people united in an unprecedented way. The withdrawal of the Syrian army from
34. Today, Lebanese citizens, Christians and Muslims, share numerous concerns, chiefly among them is:
· The completion of the building of the modern civil state, based on the authority of national institutions and on its duty to exercise its authority and sovereignty over all those residing on its national soil. Other problems are related to fighting corruption, worries over livelihood which does not distinguish between Lebanese, the respect for human rights, and the making of the Judiciary system an authority, and an independent one;
· The restoration of normal relations with Syria on the basis of parity, equality and common interests, through a courageous review of the past experience, on the basis that the cost of mutual understanding is always less than that of conflict. If it is true that between the two states there exist huge disparities as to the nature of the political regime and other issues, it does not negate the commonalities in geography, history, civilization and commitment to the major national causes. Foremost among these is the national liberation issue and independence, and the on going interconnection between the two peoples across history; and,
· The normalization of relations between the State of Lebanon and the Palestinian authority, and assuring human rights for the Palestinians in Lebanon, as they await the solution that will allow them to join the future independent Palestinian state.
Nevertheless, the most important challenges related to the political question still lie in the return to the Maronite identity, taking into consideration the expansion of the Maronite Church, for Lebanon to remain a laboratory for Muslim-Christian dialogue in a world witnessing deep divisions in this regard, and in solidarity with the Arab World, in order to refute the notion of the clash of civilizations, which is supposed to place Islam and Christianity in confrontation one against the another.
Chapter Three:
The Challenges
First: Mutual Coexistence
35. The Maronite Church perceives that
36.
37. Mutual coexistence between the Lebanese groups transcends cohabitation or living side by side. It is a way of life providing the human person with the opportunity to interconnect and interact with the other in such a manner as to enrich the personality of one from the other’s originality, and imparting enrichment in return. This is done without abrogating the particularities and the differences which become in this case a source of wealth to all. It is a way of life built on respect for the other in his distinctiveness and uniqueness, not seeking to eliminate or dominate the other, nor imposing on him a fusion negating his peculiarity, or a solitude detracting from his personality through one of its dimensions. It is a way of life founded on respect for life in its diversity and wealth, without subjecting it to a soil which would strip it of its richness, whether this soil is cultural, social or numeral. As such, people would be segregated into minorities and majorities, drawing between them demarcation lines which in no time would lead to conflict and collision. It is a way of life which does not produce a split inside a person between his multiple affiliations that constitute his identity. Consequently, it does not weaken the cohesiveness of his personality and its integration, providing him with the opportunity of searching for a unified quintessence of his various constituents. The Maronites who contributed fundamentally in creating this distinctive pattern of life, through their historical insistence on interconnectivity and openness, are ever called upon to rejuvenate the formula of conviviality.[11]
38. The war that almost wiped out mutual coexistence among the Lebanese people led to major transformations in the awareness of self and of homeland among the Lebanese. While each group was seeking guarantees beyond the other partner, the independence of 2005 came grounded on a common Christian and Muslim position affirming the right of the Lebanese to have a free and independent nation, and to live in it, different in their religious affiliation but equal in their citizenship. The Lebanese are required to deduce from the lessons of war and to realize that their destinies are intertwined, and that the salvation of
39. This vocation constitutes
40. Rejuvenating the experiment of mutual coexistence does not only provide a guarantee for the future of the Lebanese, but constitutes a necessity for their Arab environment, and aids in transcending this dangerous phase inhabited by wars and strife of all sorts. Hence, we must strive to make the Lebanese experiment, in its rejuvenated formula, a model from which to derive benefit for the Arab world, in its capacity as a civilization pattern in the search for mutual coexistence and enhancement in societies characterized by diversity and pluralism. It is also a way to redefine Arabism in its capacity as a civilization bond which draws Arabs closer to each other, and not a political project which estranges them from each other, and in its capacity as a way of renewing the Arabs’ contribution to world civilization. This constitutes a Lebanese contribution to extract the Arab World from its deep civilization travail it is suffering from. “It is a world searching for self and for a formula for its existence and for its own station in today’s world, through which it can be a positive element in the shaping of human civilization and in cementing the supports of stability and peace, emanating from the authenticity of its identity and the uniqueness of its heritage.”[13]
41. “The problems concealed within this travail are numerous, branched off and complex. We cite the following not as a constraint but as examples: heritage and modernity; political stability; political and social orders; social and economic development; unity in diversity, removed from divisions and fragmentation; religion and society; public freedoms, including religious freedom and freedom of conscience; justice, peace and human rights issues, including women’s rights; dealing with different kinds of minorities; and, their stand with regard to an evolving, pluralistic and diverse world. The Arab person lives in the midst of all these problems, searching for himself and his identity among the memory of the past and the gates of the future. In the face of this historic venture, his destiny and future are determined by how well he grasps these challenges, defines their intertwined elements, controls their mechanisms, and by how well he endeavors to deal with them, carefully, wisely, tactfully and patiently.” [14]
42. The Maronite Church is open-mindedly interactive with the political history of the environment to which she belongs. Her ecclesiastical presence obliges her to be, in the midst of the society where she lives, a sign of the Lord’s presence in our world, the salt of the earth and its leaven. The
43. Lebanon, through its conviviality based on freedom and equality and founded on diversity in the framework of a unity respectful of differences at the public level, forms an ongoing need for a creative interaction between Christianity and Islam offering its sons and daughters the opportunity of mutual spiritual enrichment through this mutual coexistence. This need has today become more urgent than ever before since the confrontation between East and West has given way for another between North and South. This confrontation no longer expresses itself through a political formula, such as Capitalism versus Communism, but attempts to give it a religious formula: extremist Christianity versus radical Islam. Christians in
Second: On the Building of a Democratic
44. The formula of mutual coexistence is in need of a democratic and modern state able to protect it and provide the appropriate conditions for its development. This state is to be established on balancing between citizenship and plurality, that is, on reconciling the two main realms in the affiliation of the Lebanese people: an individual and civil realm defined by the citizenship which is to be applied to everyone with the same conditions; and a collective realm, defined by confessionalism, which desires to acknowledge plurality and its right to self-expression. The Ta’if Constitution took this distinction between the two realms into consideration, when it asserted in the preamble that “there is no legitimacy for any authority contradicting the Pact of Mutual Coexistence.”
45. The sought after state is a state providing:
· The straight forward distinction, to the limit of separation, between religion and state, instead of downsizing religion in politics, or establishing politics on some religious starting points characterized by absolutes;
· The harmony between freedom, the conceptual basis of
· The harmony between the right of the individual citizen in self-determination, administration of his own affairs and planning his future, and, the right of communities to exist and live according to their own choices; and,
· The harmony between
Third: Reconciliation with Politics
1. Participation in the Administration of Public Affairs
46. The process of rebuilding the state requires reconciliation with politics. In the eyes of many, politics is synonymous with maneuvers, disputes, questionable practices and power abuse. Politics is trampling over principles in order to seize power. It is the easiest way to amass personal wealth at the expense of public interest. This kind of political praxis has engraved in the minds of some an erroneous concept of politics, turning it into a condemnable activity. However, “Politics is a high stakes affair aimed at achieving a society in which every person recognizes the other as a brother or sister and treats him or her accordingly.”[15] Politics is a noble concern, even an honorable art. Therefore, we must restore esteem to the political endeavor, because politics is a service for the sake of the public good.
47. Politics is a continuous struggle and a daily practice for individuals as for communities, and is transferred from one generation to another, aimed at finding solutions for the problems of society. It is there to provide the human person with the right to freedom, justice, peace and a dignified life, far from illusions and oversimplifications, for nothing in politics is a given, but rather is capable to unceasing progress. In short, politics is taking care of others, taking them into consideration, listening to their problems, helping them, respecting and loving them. It is urgent for Maronites to restore respect for the political endeavor, which Pope Paul VI described as “the more difficult way to live the Christian commitment in the service of others.”
48. Maronites are called to be “salt of the earth and light of the world,” committed to whatever service they can render in the midst of society. This way, their presence in national affairs can be made effective, courageous and perseverant in the affairs of the nation, penetrating into public life in all its political, economic, social and cultural facets, each according to his position, vocation and personal capabilities: in towns, cities, universities, clubs, trade unions, social institutions, humanitarian organizations, movements and parties. Thus, to attain a society more just and respectful of human rights, requires participation on their part, since it is an inlet into rectifying matters. This is what the Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici warned about, stating: “In order to achieve their task directed to the Christian animation of the temporal order, in the sense of serving persons and society, the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in “public life,” that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good.”[16]
2. Conformity to evangelical values
49. The war contributed in weakening the values system in
50. The Maronites’ participation in politics aids in activating political life through the renewal of their leaderships and holding them accountable. This occurs when they choose representatives enjoying credibility, transparency, behavioral rectitude and intellectual courage capable of furthering public interest over their individual and factional interests; representatives adorned with the spirit of service and sacrifice, having broad knowledge of legislation, the ability to innovate, renew and be aware of the problems of the epoch. This occurs when they choose representatives who perform through a spirit of peace, dialogue and acknowledgment of the other; capable of bringing about settlement without compromising on principles, and defending with resolve the rights and dignity of the human person; representatives who fight corruption, keep their promises and believe in democracy, plurality and the freedoms. Then, the talents and virtues deposited with the Maronites will be expended, and the culture of political praxis based on Christian foundations will spread throughout the regions of the country.
3. Fostering Culture and Democratic Practices
51. The Maronites, who have always demonstrated their attachment to a free, sovereign, independent and democratic
What is required of the Maronites, in particular, is exactly what is also required of their partners in the homeland, so that together they may contribute in building “their common home.” In the end, the Apostolic Exhortation A New Hope for Lebanon focused tens of times on hope, perseverance, firm resolve, tireless and courageous persistence, because we, as believing Christians, must never lose hope, even in the most difficult of situations. “The lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in “public life,” that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good…The administration of public affairs is a path to hope, because it leads to a world we have to build, and through it we can see that transformations are possible so as to improve the condition of humans.”[17]
52. The youth who are facing difficulties, bearers of hope, dreams and aspirations, are called upon to give social and political life a new impetus. They have the right to monitor, to require accountability and to express themselves, because their future is tied to the presence of a democratic climate and a sane political environment, and they are the hope of the Church and the nation. Women, as well, are called upon to a greater portion of participation and responsibility because they contribute to the renewal of the democratic political endeavor with the vitality, openness that they possess, the truthful approach in tackling issues, and the social sense which allows them to remedy daily situations, especially the humanitarian, educational, medical and environmental problems. Politics is heading toward the future, toward a world we have to forge and to renew.
Fourth: The Maronite Expansion in its Political Dimensions
53. Today, features of a new era are being drawn before the
54. It has become necessary to study the question of the expansion scientifically and to link it to the national life in
55. The Maronites are also aware of some of the changes affecting their life in
56. What is true of any worldwide expansion is primarily true when talking about the Maronite expansion and the reason is that
57. In this comprehensive framework, the commitment to
58. The Maronites have erected new mutual coexistence groups in the world, to which they brought the values of their faith, their freedom and their hands stretched out in cooperation. However, in the process of reproducing their collective spirit, there is anxiety that they may miss out on something fundamental should they lose connection with their history, or, if this authentic Lebanese experience loses some of its glow and value. The successes of the Maronites of Lebanon and the Maronites of the expansion are necessarily interconnected if they will to preserve their common identity. It is necessary for Maronites to discover this identity so that cooperation among them may be more effective in confronting problems concurrent with the continuity of this identity.
59. One last truth which must be paused at, is that, for
God has favored the region of the
Conclusion
60. The destiny of the Maronites and their choice is to hold on to their historical vocation and to be an interconnection factor in this East between its numerous constituents, and between the East and the world, and a propelling force into the future, confronting retardation. The Maronites are not a minority bound to others by relations of neighborhood and cohabitation, or in search of ways to organize their coexistence with the majority while preserving their specificities. They are a community which has an active role through its interconnection and interaction with all communities in forging a common future based on the principles that guarantee freedom, maintain dignity and provide a decent life for the human person.
61. The major challenges facing the Maronites, related to the political sphere, remain firstly, through return to the identity of the
TEXT RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION MECHANISMS
(Text 19)
SUBJECT |
RECOMMENDATION |
MECHANISM |
1. The Constants of the |
1. Preserving the freedom that is religiously and socially ingrained in Maronites and the continued spread of education and knowledge and cooperating with others to consolidate the culture of conviviality and increase the area of the Islamic-Christian embrace. |
1.a.: Request the 1.b.: Make known to all the ecclesiastical publications pertaining to these constants and make use of it to the fullest extent. |
2. Conviviality |
2.a.: Foster conviviality in 2.b.: Accentuate conviviality as a necessity for the Arab environment that Arabism may remain a cultural link based on freedom and equality. 2.c.: Foster conviviality as a necessity for the countries of the expansion for a more creative interaction between religions. |
2.a.: Establishing mixed institutions or activating existing ones educationally and through the media, and working with national institutions on projects that consolidate the social fabric. 2.b.: Devise new solutions, such as cultural exchanges between schools, universities, clubs and cultural movements and others. 2.c.: Disseminate a common Islamic Christian religious culture which derives benefit on the societies in which Maronites live. |
3. Building a State. |
3.a.: The authentic state stands on justice, equality, participation and the common good conquering. 3.b.: Conviviality requires a civil, democratic and modern state built on reconciling between citizenry and plurality. |
3.a.: An electoral law that takes into consideration proper representation of groups, individuals and regions. 3.b.: Adopting administrative decentralization and refraining from exploiting sectarianism politically in bolstering the participation of the citizenry in administering the public domain. |
SUBJECT |
RECOMMENDATION |
MECHANISM |
4. Reconciling Politics. |
4.a.: Giving the correct concepts to political action in the light of human and evangelical values. 4.b.: Urging Maronites to participate in administering the multi-faceted public domain in the service of the common good. 4.c.: Purging the memory and purifying consciences for the attainment of the peace which is the true springhead for development and justice. |
4.a.: To design a charter for political action based on human and evangelical values. 4.b.: Motivating students and social and media civil society organizations for this participation through enlightenment seminars, formation and workshops. 4.c.: Dialogue between the influential elements of society, especially the youth and women through symposiums deciphering the past and look up to the future in an objective manner aiming at peace. |
5. Political Role of the Maronites in the Patriarchal Domain. |
5.a.: Assertion as to the one fate binding us and the Moslems, in 5.b.: Support of those of the Expansion to “ 5.c.: Making use of the mutual coexistence heritage by the politicians of the Expansion as a model for the new relationships of the dialogue of civilizations. |
5.a.: Fostering the constructive political conjunction between Christians and Moslems on the basis of the common human and ethical values through the erection of mixed institutions and associations to engage in common political activities. 5.b.: Establishing an emigrant lobby in the capitals of the Countries of Expansion in support for “ 5.c.: Promulgating directives concerning political conformity on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities. |
[1]. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation: A
[2]. Dr. Kamal Salibi: Al-Mawarina, Soura Tarikhia (The Maronites, A Historical Portrait), An-Nahar file, No. 40, 5 January 1970, p. 19. From the manuscript: Tashreef al-Ayyaam wal-‘Oussour bi-Sirat al-Malik al-Mansour (Honoring the Days and the Epochs through the Biography of the Victorious King) found in the National Library, Paris, Manuscript No. 1704, pp. 94-95. Refer to the magazine Nour wa Hayat (Light and Life), special issue: “The Maronite Patriarchate” p. 37.
[3]. Refer to: Al-Mawarina wal-Batriarkiya al-Marounia (The Maronites and the Maronite Patriarchate), from Rabitat al-Akhawiyaat (The League of Confraternities) magazine, Issue No. 31, July-August, 1955.
[4]. Refer to Dr. Nassif Nassar’s, Min-al-Mutassarrifiya ila Lubnan al-Kabir, Madkhall ila Dirassat Ittijahaat al-Fikr as-Siyassi ‘ind-al-Mawarina fi-l-Maa-at Sana al-Akheera (From al-Mutassarrifiya to Great Lebanon, Preamble to the Study of the Trends in the Political Thought of the Maronites in the last 100 years), Al-Mashreq, 65th year, parts 1 and 2, 1991, pp. 149-196.
[5]. The Patriarch’s fifth letter on the occasion of Great Lent: Fil-Kanissa wa-s-Siyassa (On the Church and Politics), 1990.
[6]. A short time span separates us from the war and its wounds and its decline. Actually, it is not yet time to make a final detailed and critical reading and pass judgment on the war years, in its internal and external dimensions, based on documented studies and research.
[7]. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation: A
[8]. Memorandum submitted to Premier Rafiq al-Hariri on 6 March 1998.
[9]. Council of the Catholic Patriarchs of the East: Together before God, p. 27.
[10]. Ibid. P. 59.
[11]. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation: A
[12]. Council of the Catholic Bishops of the East: Together before God, p. 51, No. 39.
[13]. The Christian presence in the East, p. 8, No. 10.
[14]. Ibid. P 9, No. 11.
[15]. The French Episcopal Assembly: Pour une Pratique Chretienne de la Politique (A Christian Practice of Politics), 1972.
[16]. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation: Christifideles Laici (On the Vocation and the
[17]. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation: A
[18]. Pope John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation: A