Archived Information

CATHOLIC INFORMATION SERVICE FOR AFRICA (CISA) - Issue No. 726, Tuesday, July 25, 2006

LEBANON: Bishops Call for Ceasefire, Humanitarian Corridors

BEIRUT, July 25, 2006 (CISA) - Maronite Catholic bishops have called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors, as the conflict in the Holy Land rages on.

In an eight-point statement issued Friday, the Maronite bishops expressed their support for the Lebanese government and condemned Israel's invasion of Lebanon, based on the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah forces, reported AsiaNews.

"The painful incidents which Lebanon is witnessing are unjustified and inconceivable," read the statement, which was issued after an emergency meeting of the bishops, called by Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

"Does the abduction of two Israeli soldiers deserve cutting of all the country's joints?" the bishops wrote. "The Lebanese people's tragic condition forces us to forget political discords and unite efforts to face the crisis."

The bishops called on humanitarian institutions, notably the Lebanese and international Red Cross, to provide the people with medication and food.

News reports say at least 380 Lebanese and up to 40 Israelis have died in 14 days of conflict, which began after the armed Lebanese-based group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.

The United Nations yesterday launched a 149 million-dollar humanitarian appeal for Lebanon covering the next three months and focusing on food, health care, logistics, water and sanitation, protection and common services for an estimated 800,000 people.

Caritas, the international Catholic charity, as well as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, are mobilizing despite the difficulties caused by the current state of war.

Caritas Lebanon has been asked by the government to care for 50,000 families mostly sheltering in public buildings, such as schools, in Tyre and Beirut.

The bishops appealed to people of goodwill to help defenseless citizens who have been forced to flee; they urged all citizens to assist each other, regardless of creed.

The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, made a surprise visit to Lebanon over the weekend and is holding meetings with the region's leaders ahead of an international conference in Rome tomorrow.

LEBANON: Pope Leads Prayers for Peace, Urges Reconciliation

RHEMES-SAINT-GEORGES, July 25, 2006 ((CISA) - At a vigil for peace between Israel and Lebanon, Benedict XVI urged reconciliation in response to violence.

"Lord, free us from all evils and grant us peace; not tomorrow or the day after, grant us peace today!" the Pope implored on Sunday. He was presiding at the vigil in the church of Rhemes-Saint-Georges in the Italian Alps where he is spending his holidays.

Following a brief Liturgy of the Word, the Holy Father presented the Christian vision of peace in a homily delivered without notes, ZENIT reported. In his homily he commented on the passage of the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, which presents Christ as "our peace."

Addressing some 100 faithful gathered in the church and in the presence of Bishop Giuseppe Anfossi of Aosta, the Pope referred to the disappointment that can be felt given the violence of men against their brothers.

"There is still war between Christians, Muslims and Jews. Others foment war and all is still full of enmity, of violence. Where is the efficacy of your sacrifice? Where in history is this peace of which your apostle speaks to us?" Benedict XVI asked, addressing himself to Jesus.

The Lord's reconciliation is the answer, the Holy Father said, according to a report by Vatican Radio. "His sacrifice did not remain without efficacy," the Pope insisted.

The Pope expressed his "particular closeness to the defenseless civilian population, unjustly involved in a conflict of which they are only victims: both those in Galilee who are forced to live in shelters, and the great multitudes of Lebanese who, once again, are seeing their country destroyed and have been forced to abandon everything to seek refuge elsewhere," FIDES reports.

He prayed to God "that the vast majority of people's aspiration to peace may be realized as soon as possible, through the harmonious commitment of leaders. I also renew my appeal to all charitable organizations to bring those people the concrete expression of shared solidarity".

LEBANON: Eye Witness: 'There is Destruction Everywhere'

BEIRUT, July 25, 2006 (CISA) - The Superior of the Society of Saint Paul in Lebanon, Father Elias Aghaei, gave the following account to FIDES:

"Things are very difficult. There is destruction everywhere. The people are frightened and demoralized. The number of refugees continues to grow.

"So far Catholic religious houses and institutions have suffered no damage and many are sheltering homeless families. But the war continues to take lives and destroy indispensable infrastructures. Innocent civilians suffer the consequences of bombing.

At least 4,000 refugees from the south have arrived in the area of Harissa, where we have our House. We are trying to meet their needs - shelter, food - but our provisions, medicines especially, are insufficient. Life is extremely difficult for everyone.

On Sunday, prayers for peace were said in all the churches. We hope the international community and the political leaders at the conference in Rome this week will succeed in stopping the bombing of Lebanon. And then they must discuss once again the old question of how to settle the conflict in the Middle East which has lasted for fifty years".