Lebanon's new patriarch pledges unity
By Sami Moubayed
DAMASCUS - The big news coming from Lebanon was an unexpected visit on Wednesday by Syrian ambassador Ali Abdul Karim to the Patriarchal See in Bkirki, congratulating the new Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai. Ambassador Abdul Karim conveyed a congratulatory note from President Bashar al-Assad, inviting the new patriarch to visit Damascus.
Amid all the turmoil in Yemen, Libya - and Japan - this twist in Syrian-Lebanese relations was like a breath of fresh air for the Middle East. Twenty four hours later, Patriarch Rai accepted the invitation and said he will visit Syria soon, adding that he will extend a written invitation to Syrian authorities to attend his inauguration.
Patriarch al-Raid, 71, is the 77th Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon. He has promised to turn a new page between Christians in
Lebanon and between the church and different players in the neighborhood. What's noteworthy about this development is that it reveals how wrong and strained the Maronite Church's relations with Syria were during the long tenure of his predecessor, Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir.
The former, who just resigned from office at the age of 91, had been at the post since 1986 and never once visited Syria while in office. The fact that birthplace of the Maronite Patriarch Mar Maroun lies in northern Syria next to the principle town of Aleppo was not enough for Sfeir to set aside his political differences with Damascus and make the journey, either for political or religious reasons. Last September, a Sunday Mass was held in the Syrian village of Brad commemorating the 16th centennial anniversary of St Maroun's passing.
The area surrounding the Brad village contains around 2000 archeological sites and 2000 churches and convents, which were toured by heavyweight Lebanese Maronite politicians, but that did not convince Sfeir of the need to make the Syria visit. Earlier in May 2001, many expected Sfeir to accompany Pope John Paul II on a groundbreaking visit to Syria - but even then, the Cardinal got cold feet.
The reasons for this strained relationship are many, dating back to the difficult years of the Lebanese civil war. Although he had been at daggers' end with then-prime minister Michel Aoun back in the late 1980s, he did not support a Syrian military campaign aimed at removing him from Baabda Palace.
Sfeir, however, unwillingly supported the Syrian-backed and Saudi sponsored Taif Agreement of 1989, declaring that Aoun's non-acceptance of the Agreement was "illegal". In what was seen as a clear message to Sfeir from the Vatican in November 1989, the Papal ambassador Pablo Puente condemned the "interference of clerical persons and institutions in politics without being officially mandated to by the church hierarchy". He added that "an end must be put to political visits and declarations that have no clear Church mandate".
During the 1990s, Sfeir enjoyed a very cold relationship with Damascus, sulking as to the post-war order in Lebanon and increasingly isolating himself behind the high walls of Bkirki. Young Lebanese Maronites were unimpressed, calling for a younger, more proactive and engaged Maronite patriarch.
While advancing in age, Sfeir became more outspoken in 2000, trying to fill a visible vacancy in Maronite leadership, given that ex-president Amin Gemayel was in exile (he returned to Lebanon that year) while warlord Samir Gagea was behind bars, serving a life imprisonment. In March 2001, as testimony to his rising influence, he received a hero's welcome from a tour to the US, where he lobbied with US officials against Syrian allies in Beirut, namely then-prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Additionally that same year he blessed the Qornet Shahwan Gathering, a coalition of Christian politicians aimed at getting the Syrians out of Lebanon. In 2006, he went to the US yet again, this time meeting with hawks in the George W Bush administration, such as secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and vice president Dick Cheney.
By 2009 he was publicly calling on Christians not to vote for the Free Patriotic Movement of General Aoun, which commanded the largest Christian bloc in parliament, because of its alliance with Hezbollah. Last October, he gave an interview to al-Jazeera, lashing out against Hezbollah without naming the Lebanese group.
Many claim that the election for his replacement were the most democratic in Lebanon and should be used as a catalyst for similar democracy within religious institutions, being Sunni Muslim, Shi'ite, or non-Maronite Christians. Others are arguing that the patriarch is more important than the president of the republic, because a head of state remains in power only for a specific term, whereas a patriarch stays - almost always - for life.
Additionally, when the 39 bishops voted on Sfeir's replacement, they wanted a cleric who was not too young - precisely so as not to stay in office forever, and not too old, to become incapacitated and distant, as was the case with Sfeir. With such a background it is safe to say that Sfeir was 60% politician, 40% patriarch. In short, he took sides with one Christian party against the other, which is something a senior man of religion should not do, creating dramatic fissure within the Christian community.
It came as no surprise that after a one hour meeting in Rome last October, between Sfeir and an envoy of Pope Benedict, the Lebanese cleric was told "clearly and gently" that the Vatican sees that he should step down from Bkirki. The patriarch, due to old age and a complex internal situation in Lebanon, has presented no initiatives aimed at improving the conditions of Lebanese Christians and become increasingly occupied with domestic issues, petty politics, neglecting the situation of Christians at large throughout the Arab World.
Sami Moubayed is a university professor, political analyst, and editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine in Syria.
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