Lebanon
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
23 Nov 2003
I visited Lebanon recently a second time, as I had been there briefly in 1993.
This land has been a centre of civilization from well before the time of Christ. Here the alphabet was invented, a simple development with immense consequences linking symbols to sounds, which made literature accessible to people generally. No longer would reading and writing be the preserve only of the super-intelligent or small elites.
Many Lebanese of different religious traditions have migrated to Australia since the 19th century, making a wonderful contribution. More recently they have come here to bring up their children in peace, especially after the Lebanese civil war, where local factions and eventually foreign armies fought one another, killing about 150,000 people between 1975-1990. More than one million Lebanese left the country during this time.
On my first visit the war had finished and Central Beirut had been levelled and cleared preparatory to rebuilding the Paris of the Middle East. It was still possible then to follow the winding dividing line between the armies, from the destruction on either side. Reminders of the war are sometimes still visible now in the suburbs and countryside, bullet holes, damaged buildings, fortified pill boxes, but Central Beirut is brand new and sparkling. Coming from the airport in the early hours of the morning there was a brief traffic jam as we waited to pass the night clubs.
Lebanon is the only Arab democracy, where all citizens have civil rights and the leadership positions are shared between the different religious groups. There is a cautious optimism about the future, a determination to maintain and deepen the traditions of tolerance. I received a warm welcome from many different parliamentarians, from President Emile Lahood down to local members.
The Catholic Maronite leader, Patriarch Sfeir was in Europe when I visited the Lebanese bishops at Bkerke, but I was also privileged to be received by Sheik Kabalaan, the leader of the Shiite Muslims, an older man with a powerful personality; and Mufti Rasheed Kabbani, the leader of the Sunni Muslims, who left a deep impression with his eloquence.
Everyone knows of different Christian Churches in the Catholic, Protestant and orthodox traditions. However within the Catholic church there are also communities different from the Latin Church (to which most of us belong). The Maronites are such a Church, with their own liturgy and practices dating from the 5th century.
Their story is a difficult one, being in a minority situation for nearly 1500 years. For 450 years, until about 1850, their patriarchs had to live in an inaccessible part of the Valley of Saints. There is still no road and I joined other pilgrims by walking the last kilometre to their small chapel and residence, which still exits.
These simple, poor buildings are eloquent testimony to an unconquerable faith.
