Benedict XVI in Lebanon, a Marian "sign"
Beirut (AsiaNews) - Ten days after Benedict XVI's trip to Lebanon (14-16 September), his visit and words still resonate. Despite the hardships of wars and domestic rivalries, or the tensions caused by regional and international geopolitical confrontations, Lebanon appears to be rediscovering its traditional communitarian vocation.
The visit has had plenty of results from, especially in terms of people coming together. Hicham Nachabé, president of a Muslim association called Makassed, told the Oasis Foundation that "the pope's presence pushes us to work harder on learning about Christianity. It gave us a greater desire to know better the Christian religion."
In a memorandum for Benedict XVI, Lebanon's Chief (Sunni) Mufti Mohammed Sammak, co-chairman of the National Committee for Islamic-Christian dialogue, wrote, "Our privileged relations are our message to the world."
Caritas Lebanon president Fr Simon Faddoul told Vatican Radio that when the pope met youth in Bkerké, See of the Maronite Patriarchate, "heaven was open. I personally felt so". There were Christians and Muslims alike, and people from all over. "I felt it was like at Pentecost".
From the very first moment, even when the papal plane touched down, Fr Faddoul said, "we felt like the climate had changed, the climate among the people of this land: we felt more united, much closer".
Remembering Béchouate
Many shared this sensation. As a moment of peace and harmony, Benedict XVI's Lebanon visit reminded everyone of another one made in 2004 at the Marian shrine of Béchouate, in the Bekaa Valley, where thousands of Lebanese came together in the "sign of Mary".
A young Muslim from Jordan was the first to realise it. Like him and after him, hundreds of Christians, Muslims and Druze saw, in a moment of grace, the eyes of a copy of the statue of Notre-Dame de Pontmain come to life.
Many saw in this sign, addressed to Christians and Muslims, that Our Lady wanted to see peace and harmony in interfaith relations in Lebanon and the Arab world.
Fr Fadi Bassil, a Lazarist who had been in charge of the shrine, was particularly impressed by the peaceful closeness of Lebanese from every religion, social conditions or nationality.
For him, this was the real "sign" from Our Lady in Béchouate.
Echoes of the "sign of Mary" also reached countries of emigration as well as the countries of many recent migrants to Lebanon: Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti, etc.
Interfaith meeting in Bkerké
The interfaith summit held yesterday at the See of the Maronite Patriarchate and the "entente cordiale" that characterised the meeting, which was organised on a short notice in order to find a joint international legal action against the movie "Innocence of Muslims,' was undoubtedly a consequence of this new desire for rapprochement sparked by the papal visit.
What path the legal action will take remains unclear. At present, a legal team is charged with drafting a bill that could be used as a referent. The text could be addressed directly to the United Nations or go be expedited via a special committee of the Arab League.
The Bkerké summit expressed great appreciation for Benedict XVI's visit, both for the depth of the thoughts and sentiments he expressed as well for its concrete results.
According to Sister Laudie Hobeïka, from the Sisters of Besançon, who is a producer of a weekly show on Télé-Lumière, a Church-owned broadcaster, the visit rekindled the country's historic vocation among many Lebanese.
"Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more," she said, citing Saint Paul. "The model of community relations appears that much brighter in Lebanon as they darken elsewhere in the world."
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