The Maronite Church is determined to defend its rights following the arrest of the Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land for money and medicine for families separated by war. The false accusations of links with Israel for an exclusively humanitarian action. The solidarity of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Bishop Pizzaballa: “It is necessary to preserve the presence of Christians in the Holy Land” to promote “solidarity with the Christians of the Middle East”.
Beirut () – The confrontation between the Maronite Church and Hezbollah shows no signs of abating following the arrest last week of the Maronite Bishop of Haifa and the Holy Land, Moussa el-Hage, at the Ras Nakoura General Security Station. The bishop was making his monthly trip to Lebanon to bring money and medicine to dozens of war-torn families on both sides of the border with Israel.
“What has happened is an insult to the Maronite Church, to the patriarchate and to me personally,” Cardinal Béchara Raï thundered on Sunday, before a crowd of faithful and sympathizers who had gathered to support him in front of the summer headquarters of the Maronite patriarchate in Dimane, north of Lebanon.
The accusations of the Maronite patriarch refer to a political system established by the pro-Iranian party, with the active and passive complicity of the Free Patriotic Movement (CPL) founded by the head of state Michel Aoun and currently headed by his son-in-law, Gibran Bassil. Lebanon is becoming a “police state,” Patriarch Rai warned, an inquisitorial state in which everyone watches everyone else, a state of widespread suspicion and denunciation.
Using Israel and solidarity with the Palestinians as a pretext to justify the arrest of a bishop and impose an impervious blockade on any humanitarian transit to Lebanon is an attack on a long-held right not only of the Maronite Church, but also by the Greek Catholic, which also has an episcopal see in Haifa
The Maronite Church is the victim of a politically motivated machination, the patriarch reiterated on Sunday, and the bishop’s questioning is a serious violation of the principle of jurisdictional autonomy enjoyed by the Church, recognized by law. In any case, the patriarch continued, “it is in the national interest of Lebanon” and of Christians in particular, that the Maronite community or those of Lebanese origin in the Holy Land continue to communicate with the rest of the Arab world to which it belongs.
This position is in line with that expressed by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem which, in the words of Bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, considers it “necessary to preserve the presence of Christians in the Holy Land” to promote “solidarity with Christians in the Middle East “. “We are in full solidarity with Bishop Moussa El Hage – says Monsignor Pizzaballa in a statement – with the charitable work that he has generously carried out for a long time, regularly bringing material aid and medicines collected by benefactors to poor Lebanese families of all the religions – Christian, Muslim and Druze – which are in great difficulties due to the serious economic crisis that Lebanon is going through. We fully support the Maronite Patriarch’s statement in this regard.”
This message of solidarity from the Church of the Holy Land to the Church of Lebanon is fundamental. It is possible that behind some of the names on the list of recipients of the aid that Bishop Moussa el-Hage brought with him, some “agents” have also infiltrated, as the “accusation” affirms. But this eventuality – ecclesiastical sources assure – must be understood as “the exception that confirms the rule” and must be treated on a case-by-case basis. But it would be a collective punishment for the Lebanese forced by circumstances to reside in Israel (some entered as children with their parents) and for the Maronite communities of the Holy Land (which exist), to prohibit any humanitarian transit between Israel. and Lebanon. Patriarch Rai said on Sunday that he was determined to defy what he considers “political” bans, undaunted and carrying forward the mission of the Maronite Church.
A final word on the cash “loot” of 460 thousand dollars and 4 thousand euros and on the medicines seized by the Military Court, whose restitution is demanded by the Church. In an Eastern society impregnated with religious principles, disposing of this money or these medicines, even confiscating them, is an offense against God even before it is against men. It is the money of the poor, it is the alms that all believers, whether Christian or Muslim, offer for the benefit of their loved ones and those in need. In these times of hardship, scarcity and deprivation, it would mean depriving the poor of their livelihood. However, in this specific case, a restitution mechanism has not yet been foreseen.
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