LEBANON: Syriac Maronite Patriarch al-Raï receives several delegations in Beth Kerke

BETH KERKE, Lebanon — Syriac Maronite Patriarch Moran Mor Bechara Boutros al-Raï received several delegations and personalities at the Patriarchal Headquarters in Beth Kerke to discuss issues related to the ongoing crises in Lebanon and the need to work to limit the emigration of Lebanese Christians.

On Tuesday, Patriarch al-Raï received a delegation from the National Council of the Cedar Revolution, which included Tony Nissi, Bassam Daou, and Charbel Bou Maroun.During the meeting, a discussion took place about the UNESCO conference on ‘Arab Regional Forum on Humanities’ which took place in Byblos earlier this year during which the visiting delegation presented the Patriarch with a copy of the final report of the conference. The delegation suggested the establishment of another conference to deal with the topic of neutrality and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Patriarch al-Raï also received President of the Bashir Gemayel Academy Alfred Madi and reviewed with him the general situation in Lebanon and the role of the academy in limiting emigration in light of the difficult circumstances of the Lebanese people. They also discussed the need to support the principle of active neutrality both internally and externally. 

Patriarch al-Raï published his memorandum of “Lebanon and Active Neutrality” on 17 August 2020, two weeks after the massive explosion in the port of Beirut. The memorandum calls for Lebanon to pursue a policy of “active neutrality” and extract itself from regional and international conflicts and, given the ethnic and religious diversity of its population, act as a mediator in the region.

The Patriarch also received the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Phoenix University, Salim El-Daher, and the General Secretary of Tele Lumiere, Antoine Saad.