VATICAN CITY, 17 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Georges Chakib El Khoury, the new ambassador of Lebanon to the Holy See, to whom he expressed the hope that the Lebanese people "may courageously continue their efforts to build a united and solidary society".
"The millennial history of the country, and the place it occupies at the centre of a complex region, give it a fundamental mission to contribute to peace and harmony among everyone", said the Holy Father.
After highlighting how "because of its experience of life and of inter-community and inter-cultural collaboration, Lebanon is a 'treasure' that has been entrusted to all the Lebanese people", the Pope expressed the hope that "the international community may protect and value the country and, through real commitment, may contribute to preventing it becoming a land in which regional and global conflicts are played out. Lebanon must, then, be a laboratory in which to seek effective solutions to the conflicts that have long troubled the Middle East".
"The election of the president of the Republic, the formation of a government of national unity and the approval of a new electoral law", he said, "will favour national cohesion and contribute to the true coexistence of the various components of the nation. ... I hope that, leaving particular interests to one side and healing the wounds of the past, everyone will make an effective commitment to the path of dialogue and reconciliation so that the country may progress in stability".
"The tensions that still exist demonstrate the need to continue down the path opened some months ago with the Doha Agreement, in order to build Lebanese institutions together", Pope Benedict noted. "In this commitment to the common good, people must be guided by an unshakeable certainty: each member of the Lebanese people must feel Lebanon as their home and know that their own concerns and legitimate expectations are effectively taken into consideration, while showing reciprocal respect for the rights of others".
"To this end", the Holy Father went on, "it is necessary to promote and develop true education for peace, reconciliation and dialogue, directed above all at the young generations. ... Lasting peace, which is the profound aspiration of all Lebanese, is possible only if everyone gives fundamental importance to the will to live together in the same land, and considers justice, reconciliation and dialogue as the appropriate context in which to resolve the problems of individuals and groups".
On this subject, Benedict XVI underlined how building a society "which ensures all its members a free and dignified life" calls for "increasingly tight co-operation between all sides of the nation, based on trusting relationships between individuals and communities".
"The Holy See", he said, "always follows events in Lebanon very closely and pays particular attention to the efforts made to find a definitive solution to the problems facing the country. Particularly sensitive to the sufferings undergone for so long by the people of the Middle East, the Holy See continues with determination its commitment to peace and reconciliation in Lebanon and throughout that region so beloved to all believers".
Finally the Holy Father, recalling the recent beatification of Fr. Jacques Ghazir Haddad, "apostle of mercy", greeted the Catholic community in Lebanon, inviting its members to become "architects of unity and fraternity".
CD/LETTERS OF CREDENCE/LEBANON:EL KHOURY VIS 20081117 (570)
"The millennial history of the country, and the place it occupies at the centre of a complex region, give it a fundamental mission to contribute to peace and harmony among everyone", said the Holy Father.
After highlighting how "because of its experience of life and of inter-community and inter-cultural collaboration, Lebanon is a 'treasure' that has been entrusted to all the Lebanese people", the Pope expressed the hope that "the international community may protect and value the country and, through real commitment, may contribute to preventing it becoming a land in which regional and global conflicts are played out. Lebanon must, then, be a laboratory in which to seek effective solutions to the conflicts that have long troubled the Middle East".
"The election of the president of the Republic, the formation of a government of national unity and the approval of a new electoral law", he said, "will favour national cohesion and contribute to the true coexistence of the various components of the nation. ... I hope that, leaving particular interests to one side and healing the wounds of the past, everyone will make an effective commitment to the path of dialogue and reconciliation so that the country may progress in stability".
"The tensions that still exist demonstrate the need to continue down the path opened some months ago with the Doha Agreement, in order to build Lebanese institutions together", Pope Benedict noted. "In this commitment to the common good, people must be guided by an unshakeable certainty: each member of the Lebanese people must feel Lebanon as their home and know that their own concerns and legitimate expectations are effectively taken into consideration, while showing reciprocal respect for the rights of others".
"To this end", the Holy Father went on, "it is necessary to promote and develop true education for peace, reconciliation and dialogue, directed above all at the young generations. ... Lasting peace, which is the profound aspiration of all Lebanese, is possible only if everyone gives fundamental importance to the will to live together in the same land, and considers justice, reconciliation and dialogue as the appropriate context in which to resolve the problems of individuals and groups".
On this subject, Benedict XVI underlined how building a society "which ensures all its members a free and dignified life" calls for "increasingly tight co-operation between all sides of the nation, based on trusting relationships between individuals and communities".
"The Holy See", he said, "always follows events in Lebanon very closely and pays particular attention to the efforts made to find a definitive solution to the problems facing the country. Particularly sensitive to the sufferings undergone for so long by the people of the Middle East, the Holy See continues with determination its commitment to peace and reconciliation in Lebanon and throughout that region so beloved to all believers".
Finally the Holy Father, recalling the recent beatification of Fr. Jacques Ghazir Haddad, "apostle of mercy", greeted the Catholic community in Lebanon, inviting its members to become "architects of unity and fraternity".
CD/LETTERS OF CREDENCE/LEBANON:EL KHOURY VIS 20081117 (570)
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