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SYNAXARION Joseph, the spouse of Mary, lived a life of obscurity and devotion to Jesus. The Maronite Church celebrates his feast on the fifth Sunday of the Season of Announcement and also on March 19. This Sunday is the Revelation to Joseph Sunday. The truth is revealed to Joseph after doubts concerning his beloved Mary. Joseph was in front of a great Mystery (the Virgin is with child) and a great vocation (to become a father of the Son of the Father in Heaven).We learn 7 things from Joseph:1- The Righteous man: Joseph was a righteous man, committed to...

Anti-Maronite Lebanon's Maronites make up the largest Christian community in the country - a community where religion and politics are inextricably mixed. The Maronites, linked culturally and politically to the West, favored teir own continue rule, Lebanese nationalism, and a Western-oriented foreign policy. Sunni Muslims favored Pan-Arabism and were often friendly to Nasir and Syria [source], so was its armed wing the Phalangist's early stance, pro-Western and opposed to Pan-Arabism [source] in the 1970s, the Maronite bloc showed some degree of unity in opposing pan-Arabism, (although recently some have split and allied themselves with Hezbollah and became anti-American) [source]. Any...

JEZZINE, Lebanon (CNS) -- Sitting at an outdoor cafe on a mild spring afternoon, overlooking the town square of Jezzine, Samaan Dahir felt optimistic about Lebanon's June 7 parliamentary elections. "The resistance needs to win," said Dahir, referring to the so-called March 8 coalition led by Hezbollah, the Shiite political party credited for liberating South Lebanon from 18 years of Israeli occupation and subsequently helping to rebuild the war-torn region. "Let's give the opposition a chance and see the how they implement their reform programs. I'm definitely for March 8. I'm for change." Dahir, a Maronite Catholic from Jezzine, is...

I have always seen Israel as the result of the national liberation movement of the region's aboriginal Jews. Liberation of the aboriginal Jews (and anyone else lucky enough to find refuge within Israel's borders) from the twin fascisms of pan-Arabism and Islamism which have oppressed and even eliminated so many of the region’s aboriginal ethnic groups. Israel's aboriginal Jews were not unique in accepting outside help (and even immigration) in their liberation struggle. Lebanon's Maronites; Egypt's Copts, Iraq and Turkey's Kurds, and Iran's Zoroastrians have all sought and received outside help in their liberation struggles, each group according to its...

Controversial Hollywood star Mel Gibson made a private and unexpected visit to St. Louis this week. He came to pray and talk to bishops from the Eastern Catholic Church Bishop Conference. "I was more than surprised; I was flabbergasted," said Bishop Robert Shaheen of the Maronite Church. Shaheen had little warning about Gibson's visit. The mega star decided to pay a visit after learning the Maronite tradition within the Catholic Church uses a dialect of the historic language of Jesus , Aramaic, during the Mass. Gibson's compelling movie, "The Passion of the Christ," used the Aramaic language and English subtitles...

LukeChapter 15 11 Then he said, "A man had two sons, 12 and the younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.' So the father divided the property between them. 13 After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. 14 When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. 15 So he hired himself out to one of...

Syrian Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan is veiled as he walks in procession at his installation Mass at Our Lady of the Annunciation Syrian Catholic Church in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 15. He is immediately followed by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington. (CNS) BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Amid cheers and ululation, the former head of the Syrian Catholic diocese in the U.S. and Canada was installed as patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church. Saying that he will "serve, not for personal interests, but to win Christ," Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan was installed Feb. 15 at a...

PODCAST: The Pax Islamica: Totalitarianism, Islamism and ‘Islamo-fascism’ Ana Belén SoageIn this frank and relevant interview, Matthew Feldman, one of the editors of the Political Religions section of Religion Compass talks with Ana Belén Soage, of the University of Granada. They candidly discuss the nature of contemporary and modern politicised Islam.Soage argues that the so-called ‘moderate’ forms of politicised Islam differ from the more radical forms (epitomised by groups like Al Qaeda) in degree only, not in kind. Any form of Islamist movement, she argues, necessarily requires the formation of a ‘Pax Islamica’; an essentially totalitarian aim. Islamist movements are...

The Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn takes the historic step this June of establishing the first congregation of active religious sisters of the Maronite Church within the United States. Called the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light, these sisters will assist parish priests throughout the eparchy in a variety of pastoral work, ranging from directing religious education programs, to working with families, youth, and the elderly. Statement from Bishop Gregory J. Mansour The contribution made by consecrated women in the Church is beyond measure. The Maronite Church is no exception. The time has come for the Eparchy of Saint...

At the tail-end of his Stateside swing-through -- just one leg of his monthlong overseas tour -- the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir held talks yesterday with President Bush on the uncertain political situation in Lebanon: The U.S. President, according to An Nahar, told Sfeir that only Lebanon's armed forces should be responsible for keeping security in the country. Bush stressed that the U.S., along with other European countries, will help the army in this regard. Sfeir delivered to Bush the same memorandum that he had given to U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon and the permanent members of the...

Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir BEIRUT (AFP) — Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, from whose Maronite community Lebanese presidents are drawn, left on Sunday for the United States, for talks due to focus on Lebanon's protracted presidential vacuum.Sfeir will hold talks with President George W. Bush on May 22 after a stop in New York to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Maronite church said.Sfeir said ahead of the visit he hoped Washington could contribute to efforts to ease the political crisis in Lebanon, which has been without a president since November amid wrangling between feuding leaders."The American officials know about...

Following years of persecution and not being able to attend Mass because of the threat of terrorism, Huzni Hermez and his family left their war-torn homeland of Iraq and found a place where they could freely practice their Catholic faith. With the cooperation of St. Anthony Maronite Catholic Church in Springfield, Springfield-based Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts and the Diocese of Springfield, Hermez and his family -- including wife Muntha Sooloka; children Yusif Yusuf, 6, Raymon Yusuf, 4, and Eleana Yusuf, 3; and Hermez's mother, Sarra Khoshaba -- arrived in Springfield Nov. 15. They are Chaldean Catholics, members of...

Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday put off a session to elect a new president until next month after the legislature failed to muster enough lawmakers because of a Hezbollah-led opposition boycott.The announcement was made by a parliamentary official in the chamber after the bell rang three times to call the lawmakers into session. Lawmakers from the pro-government majority were in the chamber for 30 minutes, but many opposition members, who gathered in the building, stayed in the hallways.The gathering in parliament was held under tight security after last week's assassination of a legislator from the majority.The postponement had been expected after...

Beirut: Boutros Harb, long-serving Maronite Lebanese Member of Parliament, is standing for president and reaching out to the Shiite Hezbollah, across the political divide in the country. He is part of the ruling anti-Syrian coalition, called 14 March, but he has hopes of support from parts of the pro-Syrian opposition coalition, called 8 March. Harb spoke on the Shiite TV station NBN earlier this week, and to Gulf News the day before. "I have proposed that the Lebanese army and government must be in control of declaring war, and that we should find a way to incorporate Hezbollah's forces into...

New Emphasis on Life and Family from Head of Maronite Catholic Church By John-Henry Westen BEIRUT, LEBANON, August 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir, spiritual head of the more than 15 million Maronite Catholics spread throughout the world, has in the past few months launched a new emphasis on life and family issues.  Charbel El-Chaar, the Founder of St Charbel for Life, the first Arab Catholic Pro-Life website on the Internet (http://lilhayat.com/ ), spoke with LifeSiteNews.com about the significant development. El-Chaar quoted from homilies delivered by the Patriarch in June which addressed rejecting homosexual 'marriage',...

BEIRUT: The Cabinet's decision to no longer acknowledge Good Friday as an official national holiday triggered an outcry from a number of prominent Lebanese Christians over the weekend. Good Friday is "a central day in Christian culture," Jbeil Maronite Archbishop Bishara Raii said during an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) Saturday. "Canceling it as a holiday is a violation of Christian norms."The government should have consulted with various Christian religious figures before issuing any decisions. Christians would never allow such a key day to be simply left off calendars," Raii said.Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis had defended the move,...

The season of Resurrection opens with the week that has been known by different names in the liturgy: Week of Resurrection, Easter Week, Week of Renewal, and last but not least, "Week of Weeks". However, the name most commonly applied to it is "Week of Hawareyeen". The word suggests the idea of "white" and "justification". It refers either to the angels at the empty tomb (who announced his resurrection, clothed in white), or to the Lord's disciples (who believed in his resurrection and thus, were clothed in "justification"), or also to the newly baptized members of the Church (clothed both...

Nearly three years ago I sat on a rectory porch with a young pastor who spoke freely of his worries but kept his biggest dream to himself. What the Rev. Armando Elkhoury saw as important was holding together his tiny Colorado flock of Maronite Catholics. Many hailed from Lebanon - where he's from - and other war-ravaged lands throughout the Middle East. Back then, Elkhoury's flock of 40 families was dependent, you could say, on the kindness of relatives. Aligned with Rome and the pope, they found refuge at All Souls Catholic Church in Englewood, which gave them a rectory...

Hosanna Sunday On the next day, when the great crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took palm branches and went out to meet him, and cried out: "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, (even) the king of Israel."Jesus found an ass and sat upon it, as is written: "Fear no more, O daughter Zion; see, your king comes, seated upon an ass's colt."His disciples did not understand this at first, but when Jesus had been glorified they remembered that these things were written about...

Maronite Catholics, like many other Eastern Catholics, get a jump-start on Lent, which begins on "Ash Monday." Father Makram Kozah, spiritual director at the Maronite patriarchal seminary in Lebanon, said the early start gives Maronites "seven full weeks for Lent." "Thursday of the drunkards" precedes Ash Monday. Many Catholics enjoy a cocktail or arrack -- Lebanon's national liquor made from grapes -- with family and friends, but "Thursday of the drunkards" is typically considered the start of a feasting period before the Lenten fast. In previous generations when families were large, a lamb was slaughtered on that Thursday. This gave...

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - One of the Rites in the Catholic Church other than the Roman rite, is the Maronite Rite.  While centered in Lebanon where the Maronite Patriarch resides, it has adherents throughout North America as well.  The Maronite rite is unique for its celebration of central part of the Mass in Aramaic - the language Jesus spoke with his apostles. One of the hundreds of bishops who attended the March for Life Mass in Washington DC last month, was Maronite Bishop Gregory John Mansour who oversees the Maronite rite for all of the Eastern United...

"A song of ascents. I I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth." (Psa 121:1-2).  2 Timothy 3:10-17 You have followed my teaching, way of life, purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, persecutions that I endured. Yet from all these things the Lord delivered me. In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers...

Some readers intimated that I had perhaps read too much into Canons 209-210 by suggesting that it implied supporting one's local parish (see Jan. 16). Although the expression "particular church" usually means "diocese" in canonical terms, most Catholics support their local church through their parish. Likewise, according to Canon 107, Catholics, unlike most Protestants, generally acquire their pastor through place of residence (technically domicile or quasi-domicile) as canon law presumes laws to be territorial. Even when, as frequently happens in the United States, a Catholic registers and worships in a parish different from his or her territorial parish, this latter...

Christ, having been lifted up from the earth has drawn all men to Himself. Rising from the dead He sent His life-giving Spirit upon His disciples and through Him has established His Body which is the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, He is continually active in the world that He might lead men to the Church and through it join them to Himself and that He might make them partakers of His glorious life by nourishing them with His own Body and Blood. [Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the...

"Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21). WEEK OF REVELATION TO JOSEPHSUNDAYReflections  Ephesians 3:1-13  Paul’s Ministry to the GentilesBrothers and Sisters:This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for...

Benedict XVI urged politicians of the country of the cedars to concern themselves solely with the good of Lebanon. This morning, he celebrated his first dedication of a new Church, an event that takes on a particular symbolic meaning in the time of Advent. VATICANPope: "Urgent pacific solutions" for Middle East and LebanonBenedict XVI urged politicians of the country of the cedars to concern themselves solely with the good of Lebanon. This morning, he celebrated his first dedication of a new Church, an event that takes on a particular symbolic meaning in the time of Advent. Vatican City (AsiaNews)...

BKIRKI: The Maronite Church signaled a significant shift from its resolute support for the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday by calling for the creation of a "reconciliation government" inclusive of all national parties.The call by Lebanon's most influential Christian institution came in a statement issued after a meeting of the Council of Maronite Bishops headed by Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir at Bkirki.Politicians must do "whatever is necessary" to end the political deadlock and mounting threats to security, the statement said, stressing that the decision should not be construed as a withdrawal of support for the embattled...

According to the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Catholic Church SYNAXARIONThe third Sunday of the Season of Announcement commemorates another important event in the unfolding of the promises of God. Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. After receiving such tremendous good news, Mary could have secluded herself in a life of prayer and contemplation. However, after the angel of the Lord had communicated the news of Elizabeth’s conception to her, Mary perceived it as the Lord’s will that she go to be with Elizabeth, and thus chose to share the divine life within her with another. Mary shared Jesus with others...

"Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you." (Luke 1:28). SEASON OF ANNOUNCEMENT AND BIRTH OF OUR LORDThe Announcement to Mary Second Sunday of Announcements. SYNAXARION The second Sunday of the Season of Announcement commemorates the announcement to Mary that she is to be the Mother of God. The feast actually recalls two aspects of the same salvific mystery: the incarnation of the divine Word and the motherhood of Mary. For this reason, the feast was given different names according to the aspect which was being emphasized. With time, the incarnation of the Son of God was stressed...

Brigitte Gabriel lost her childhood to militant Islam. In 1975 she was ten years old and living in Lebanon when militant Muslims from throughout the Middle East poured into her country and declared jihad against Lebanese Christians. Lebanon was the only Christian influenced country in the Middle East, and the Lebanese Civil War was the first front in what has become the worldwide jihad of fundamentalist Islam theology against non-Muslim peoples. Based upon her personal experiences, Garbriel addresses the West’s lack of understanding and ignorance of the ways and thinking of the Middle East. She identifies mistakes the West has...

Tomorrow, the funeral will be celebrated by Patriarch Sfeir, who has described the killing as “a new blow to much desired peace” and called for the rejection of violence. The majority is calling for a rally. Unanimous international condemnation ultimately means support for the government. The UN has approved the setting up of an international tribunal. Beirut (AsiaNews) – Condemnation, participation, anxiety. This is how Lebanon is reacting to yesterday’s assassination of Minister Pierre Gemayel, a “further blow to much desired peace”, as the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir described it. He has urged the Lebanese people to steer clear of...

BEIRUT (AP)--With Independence Day celebrations canceled, Lebanon was engulfed in fear and gloom Wednesday as it prepared to bury Cabinet minister and Christian leader Pierre Gemayel, following his assassination on Tuesday. Schools and shops were closed and traffic was light as Gemayel's coffin, draped in the flag of his Phalange Party, was driven to the family's home in Bikfaya for mourning ceremonies before the funeral scheduled for Thursday. A small crowd of mourners, some carrying Lebanese flags, walked slowly behind the vehicle carrying the coffin. Gemayel, minister of industry and scion of a prominent political family, was killed Tuesday when...

Roman Sacristan tells me that Rod Dreher, a right-wing writer (Dallas Morning News, National Review) who used to be Catholic (convert) has jumped ship and joined an Orthodox church (personal take: for me it'd be absurd to join, say, the Russian Orthodox church without being Russian). On Beliefnet, Mr. Dreher explains himself in quite a pitiful manner, citing the sex scandals and dissent in the Church - only to offer up dissent himself. Back in 2001, when I first started writing about the child sex-abuse scandal in the Church, Father Tom Doyle, the heroic priest who ruined his own...

Beirut, Oct. 02, 2006 (CNA) - Although the conflict in Lebanon has ended, peace has yet returned for the inhabitants of a mostly Maronite Catholic town who fear Hezbollah will turn their country into an Islamic nation. Christians, mostly Maronite Catholics, now make up only 40% of the population of Lebanon.  The middle-eastern country once boasted a majority Christian population, but is now being increasingly populated by Muslims, including Shiites who are represented, in large part by, militant group Hezbollah. A reporter working for the Mexican daily “El Universal” published a story last week, focusing on the shifting circumstances in...

Anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea scoffed at Hezbollah claims of victory in its conflict with Israel and avowals that it wanted a strong state in Lebanon. "We are the victors, and yet we do not feel it was victory but rather that a real catastrophe befell our country, and that our fate and destiny are at the mercy of the winds," the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader and member of the "March 14" political group told a rally attended by tens of thousands. Crowds flocked to a hilltop Maronite cathedral in Harissa north of Beirut, site of a giant statue of...

It is the Feast of the Cross. This is the last feast in the summer for the Lebanese Christians. On Monday September 11, 2006, the Christians of my town gathered in the church where I gave a teaching about how to Deny oneself, Take up the cross, and Follow Jesus. This teaching was liberating especially from erroneous thoughts and concepts. People were saying after this teaching: "How simple it is to deny oneself, take up the cross and follow Jesus. We had definitely different thoughts about it." On Tuesday, I had to visit a non-Christian hospital where one man...

Sharbel Mansour, a Christian in a Christian district of Beirut, sees a convoy of cars pass by, yellow Hizbollah flags waving in celebration of the Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla group's declaration of victory over Israel. He says he feels enraged and worried. Enraged because in Lebanon, a country still scarred by the sectarian civil war of 1975 to 1990, crossing another community's neighborhood for a political statement is a provocation. And worried alongside many Christians, Sunni Muslims and Druze Lebanese who think Hizbollah gained strength in withstanding 34 days of Israeli attacks. "They will not give up their weapons. They...

EL QLAIAA, Lebanon -- Chucrallah Nabil Hage, the Maronite Christian archbishop of Tyre, added a twist to his Sunday sermon here: hold your ground. "Wherever you are -- in Hajji or Tyre or Marjayoun -- if you're patient and believe, you'll make it through this," Hage told a standing-room congregation at St. George's Church in this southern Lebanese village. "The most important thing is to stay on this land." Since last month, the 63-year-old priest has braved bombs, rockets and ground clashes between Israeli forces and the Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah, racing over cratered roads and threading past bombed-out bridges...

As Israel pounded Hizbullah targets in southern Lebanon with bombs, artillery fire and advancing ground troops, some Lebanese at home and abroad were quietly applauding Israel's offensive. Most Lebanese oppose Israel's widespread bombardment of the country, and even those in the past who called for Hizbullah's disarmament have, in the face of Israel's military assault, lined up behind the Shi'ite militia. Yet a distinct minority of Lebanese are rooting for Israel to crush Hizbullah - silently if not explicitly. "I'm praying for flattening southern Lebanon," one Beirut native, Micheline Touma, told JTA recently after fleeing Lebanon for the United States...

BEIRUT: Criticizing what it called a divided national decision-making process, the Council of Maronite Bishops said Wednesday that "it is impossible to continue like this." "Decisions have to be taken by one leader, one leader represented by the government who has won the confidence of Parliament and is elected by the people, otherwise the country is doomed to suffer catastrophes," said Monsignor Youssef Tawq, spokesman for Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.In a statement released following an extraordinary meeting chaired by Sfeir in Bkirki, the council said the cease-fire in the Israeli-Lebanese conflict - which has destroyed much of Lebanon's infrastructure...

Beirut (Der Spiegel) As more and more Christians are leaving Lebanon, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, patriarch of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, in an interview with the SPIEGEL ONLINE, talked about the on-going Christian exodus, the future of Hezbollah and the influence of Iran and Syria on his country, stating that “Hezbollah has become a state within a state, with help from Iran. We can not accept”. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Your Highness, what are you most worried about at the moment? Sfeir: The progressive devastation of our country. And the growing outward migration of Christians, who are not returning to Lebanon. We...

In an extraordinary expression of concern, Pope Benedict XVI has sent Cardinal Roger Etchegeray as his special envoy to the Lebanon to convey his "concrete solidarity" and "spiritual closeness" to 'the martyred population" of that war-destroyed land, and to "all those who are suffering" in the Middle East. Before leaving Rome on Sunday morning, the 83-year-old French cardinal was tightlipped and would only say that his mission was "to bring hope" to the Lebanese people.   The Vatican emphasised that the cardinal's visit was "strictly religious" but sources suggested that he hopes to meet with the country’s political leaders. He will...

Baltimore, Aug. 11, 2006 (CNA) - Officials from the Maryland-based Catholic Relief Services announced last week that they, along with their oversees partner Caritas Lebanon, are leading a massive effort to provide aid to the hundreds of thousands of Lebanese displaced or cut off by the ongoing battle between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group. While many are calling the humanitarian situation in Lebanon dire, CRS stressed that their efforts are continuing to move at full power. The group announced that they have provided aid to over 85,000 so far and hope to be able to help 130,000-140,000 more in...

Washington DC, Aug. 03, 2006 (CNA) - Recent reports indicate that Hezbollah is using Christian villages to shield its attacks against Israel. According to Christian Solidarity International, Hezbollah is hiding among civilian populations, mostly in southern Lebanese towns, such as Ain Ebel, Rmeish, Alma Alshaab. Launching attacks behind human shields is in violation of the Geneva Convention's provision for the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, which prohibits the use of civilians as military shields. This is not a new strategy for Hezbollah. Col. Charbel Barka, a former South Lebanese Army commander, says Hezbollah is repeating what it did...

Christian villagers have nowhere to run Caught between warring sides, many stay to protect their historic home AIN EBEL, LEBANON -- Therese Asrouni felt no love for either side as she watched an intense firefight between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah guerrillas out her window yesterday. She loathed them both for once more turning her tiny tobacco-farming community into a war zone. Residents of Ain Ebel say Hezbollah has been drawing fire toward the Christian village by launching Katyusha rockets from the nearby tobacco fields, just a few hundred metres from Ms. Asrouni's home. The militants leave when Israel returns fire,...

VATICAN CITY, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday renewed his call for a cease-fire in the Middle East, saying nothing "can justify the spilling of innocent blood." "Our eyes are full of horrifying images of the mangled bodies of so many people, particularly children," the 79-year-old pontiff told pilgrims during a weekly audience in St. Peter's Square. He referred specifically to the Israeli attack last weekend in the southern Lebanese town of Qana that killed 56 civilians, mostly women and children. "I would like to repeat that nothing, anywhere, can justify the spilling of innocent blood," Italy's...

BEIRUT: Lebanon's top religious figures called on the international community to end its silence over the Israeli hostilities in the country. Vice president of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan called Monday for an international investigation into the Qana massacre.During an emergency meeting of the council Monday, Qabalan called for an immediate end of Israeli hostilities against Lebanon and urged all the Lebanese to unite and support the resistance.Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani met Monday with Iranian Ambassador Mahmoud Rida Shibani, who condemned the Qana massacre and the "international silence over the continuous Israeli hostilities."Earlier in the day,...

In late 1990, in the run-up to the Gulf War, I was a graduate student in political theory at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The coming war occupied much of our talk outside the classroom, and I can recall only one graduate student—a Sicilo-American Republican from Philadelphia who had gone through ROTC and was studying at the law school so he could be a JAG Corps attorney for the Army—who was in favor of the war. I was a subscriber to the American edition of the Italian Catholic magazine 30 Days, and we were all shocked when...

Many Lebanese expatriate groups have roundly condemned the Hizbullah, Iran and Syria. Some of them are also calling for Israel to press ahead in its military campaign. The Lebanese Canadian Coordinating Council (LCCC), a coalition of organizations in Canada, has released a statement laying out its vision of what measures should be endorsed by the world community at an international conference on the ongoing warfare in Lebanon. The conference is to be held in Rome on Wednesday, pursuant to a recommendation issued by the United Nations Security Council on July 21, 2006. Among the measures the LCCC is recommending are...

Today, the German-based Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need, (ACN) described the number of families affected by the ongoing military clashes in Lebanon  to be exceeding 100,000, most of them Christian. ACN announced that, “While the number of casualties exceeds 300 dead and 900 wounded,  many of the some 100,000 affected families are taking refuge in public and private schools as well as in convents and other Church buildings,” “At present, canned food, milk for children, detergents, soap, and medication are the items most urgently needed”. ACN has sent 25,000 dollars as  an immediate response to an appeal...