Professor Michel Abs
Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches
Holy Father,
I write to you, the custodian of the See of Peter, to tell you a story of faith and a homeland.
I write to you from the land of holiness, from Lebanon, from the land of Canaan, from the Antiochene Levant, where the Message was incarnated, and from where Paul and Peter set out to preach to the world; and from the Nile Valley, where the Family of the Incarnation took refuge, and where Mark sat preaching to an entire continent.
I write to you from Beirut, the city of interaction and light, which was shaken and partly destroyed by negligence and conspiracy, and whose people have not yet been given justice.
I write to you from the land of Jerusalem, the land of Melchizedek, the land of wine and leaven, the land of milk and honey, the land of fertility, fertility of the spirit before fertility of matter, where the Master whose Kingdom has no end was incarnated; the Sun of Justice, the source of Light, and the Redeemer of creation, this creation that insists on descending into the depths of hell at every historical turn.
I write to you from where the disciples were first called Christians, in Antioch, and where people witnessed massacres and displacement, so that it deserved to be called the land where every inch has a martyr.
Not far away, the first martyr in Christianity was stoned, and in every part of this region, the blood of martyrs was shed; therefore, my land is called the land of martyrs and saints.
In our country, Lebanon, which is dear to your heart, the pearl of the two Easts, which you visited upon your first departure from the Holy See, we have been living history, pain, and suffering for centuries. Our country is torn apart, begging for stability, security, and prosperity, but receiving only crumbs, while our people emigrate, voluntarily displacing themselves to all corners of the earth.
Christians are emigrating, so we say, and their presence has noticeably declined. They compensate for this collapse in quantity by improving the quality of service to society composed of all their brothers in the homeland and humanity, shouldering a pivotal and decisive role in the life of their nations.
Migration is no longer limited to Christians alone but has affected all segments of society as a result of the decline witnessed by the country on all levels: security, political, economic, psychological, and human dignity.
Suspicion pervades our society and accompanies us in our daily lives, turning us into people deeply anxious about the future and destiny.
Your visit, Holy Father, carries for us high historical and symbolic meanings, whether in its form or its content.
You come to all the Lebanese to tell them: “You are all one in the eyes of the Holy See; do not be divided, join hands, and the burdens upon you will be lightened.”
You are coming to a country torn by internal conflicts, exhausted by foreign interventions, weakened by overwhelming individual selfishness, and whose heart has been eroded by corruption.
Read more: https://www.mecc.org/mecc/2025/11/27/letter-to-the-bishop-of-rome
By mecc.org
