Maronite Bishop's  Council Communiqué 
Issued at the Bkerke Seat on June 5/1999

The Bishops of the Maronite Church residing in Lebanon as well as those from Syria , Jordan , the Holy Land , Cyprus , Egypt , Europe , Australia , Canada , the USA , Mexico , Brazil and Argentina , held their annual retreat and Patriarchal Synod in Bkerke , under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Nasrallah-Peter Cardinal Sfeir , from May 30th , feast of the Holy trinity to June 5th 1999 . After praying and invoking the Holy Spirit , they discussed the various topics on their agenda which include items related to Church matters as well as administrative and national issues . As a result of their deliberations they declare the following :

1 – We give thanks to Almighty God for His providence that brought us together with our Brothers the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of the Middle East, in a Congress held last month in Lebanon, in this region where Our Lord Jesus Christ was born . It was for the participants an opportunity to renew the spirit of cooperation among themselves and reaffirm their faithfulness to the mission entrusted to their care to spread the Gospel . Moreover they stated the commitment or their Churches , at the dawn of the third Millenium , to pursue their efforts for the realization of the unity of the Church and to continue to foster Christian Muslim dialogue , to which they are committed because of their religious convictions , as well as the presence of many of their faithful in the Arab World where they live side by side with their Muslim brothers and sisters as co-citizens sharing the same objectives and destiny . The letter of His Holiness Pope John-Paul II addressed to them was a source of special encouragement in the service of the Church .

2 – We call upon our faithful to make of the coming Jubilee Year a time of hope , repentance and renewal . And we appeal to the world to work for a just global and lasting peace in this region which was blessed by Our Lord Jesus Christ , the King of Peace , for in it he chose to be born , live , suffer , die and rise from the dead for the redemption of mankind , and which is still witnessing tragic unending acts of violence, destruction and death . We experience a particular sense of frustration on the occasion of this Great Jubilee because many of our faithful are unable to visit Bethlehem , Nazareth , Jerusalem and other holy places . We invite pilgrims from all over the world to visit Holy sites in Lebanon blessed by the visit of Our Lord to them about 2000 years ago , such as Tyr and Sidon , and sanctified by the prayers of Saints and Martyrs who lived in their mountains and valleys .

3 – We deeply value the progress realized by the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission during the past year in the preparation of the new edition of the Eucharistic Liturgy , which will soon be published , the completion of the new pastoral Arabic translation of the New Testament , as well as the preparation of the hymnal book . All those realizations will allow Maronites everywhere to pray in the same spirit and to preserve their liturgical tradition as well as their common Eastern Maronite identity ; those spiritual values which have marked their life and history in the Lebanon which will remain for them all a spiritual homeland and a Holy Mountain .

4 – We learnt with great joy that the Maronite College in Rome, which was established more than 400 years ago , and which graduated numerous Church leaders and scholars , some of whom made their impact in Europe, and others came back to their various countries in the East where they built new schools and contributed greatly to the pastoral , cultural and social renewal of their Churches, and to the opening of the region to modern thinking which allowed the people of Lebanon in particular to reach such a high standard of cultural and scientific development . Numerous Maronite Bishops and Priests , with groups of their faithful , from all over the world , will gather around His Beatitude the Patriarch , on the occasion of his visit to Rome to celebrate the Mass , on Saint Maron’s Feast day , in the Basilica of Santa Maria Majore , in the name of the Maronite Church and for its intention, as determined by the calendar of the celebrations of the Jubilee for the Year 2000 .

5 – We wish to emphasize the importance of the formation of our priests so that they may be ready to serve in the next century in the midst of changing situations, both at local and international levels . We studied also the necessary means which will allow the seminarians , through a balanced formation , to equip themselves for this task , as adequately as possible , that takes into consideration the various human cultural , spiritual , theological and pastoral dimensions . Such formation will open up for them new horizons in the pastoral service of our faithful in the Diaspora and in missionary work wherever they may be needed . It was further decided to establish regular consultations among the various seminaries in Lebanon and abroad in order to set up a new strategy for an ongoing process of coordination which will improve the quality of our service . A special effort will be deployed to encourage new vocations in the Diaspora which will contribute to the further growth of our communities outside Lebanon and foster their links with their spiritual roots in Lebanon .

6 – A report was presented to the synod on the progress realized by the commission for the Maronite Synod , to be held in the coming few years , 265 years after the Lebanese Synod held in 1736 at the Monastery of Our Lady of Louaizy . It’s hoped that this Maronite Synod will further develop the Synod for Lebanon in accordance with the recommendations of the latter .

7- At the dawn of this new era in the history of Lebanon we are glad to note that the government is trying hard to strengthen the institutions and establish clear administrative procedures to deal with outstanding issues such as the electoral law and the law governing naturalization . Furthermore the government is attempting to follow a sane financial policy capable of safeguarding public funds , limiting the contracting of new loans without a proper plan for the servicing and restitution of the debts . This policy appears to be a qualitative new step towards the dissipation of the legacy of the war . We sincerely hope that no obstacles will hamper its success and that justice for all will prevail without any distinction , so that every citizen is justly treated and that political freedom of each and every individual is guaranteed and all their rights safeguarded so that they may all make their contribution to the rebuilding of their country .

8 – Developments in the Jezzine area and the restitution of that region and its citizens to the authority of the Lebanese State have been carefully followed by the Synod . The Fathers share the anxiety of the inhabitants about the future . And while thanking all those who are working to secure their safety and their rights , they ask the Lebanese government to assume fully its responsibility for the security of the region as the unique legal authority and sole guarantor of people’s safety , their rights and their dignity .

The presence of the legal authority in Jezzine , ought to be complete just as it is in any other liberated city or town in southern Lebanon . A delegation representing His Beatitude and the Members of the Synod will visit Jezzine on Sunday , the 6th of June , to show their solidarity with the inhabitants of that region that is very dear to us all .

9 – A solid economy is one of the most Important aspects of the sovereignty of any nation that wishes to live and prosper . This is why the Fathers urge those in charge to continue to build the national economy on sound foundations so that every citizen may be able to contribute , in every possible way , to the success of this great enterprise .

The local working force ought to be protected , the agriculture subsidized , the industry supported by protecting national products and finding new markets for them and securing equality of treatment and mutual support with the neighboring countries as well as other friendly nations . We call upon the authorities to safeguard our free economic system and endeavor to provide new work opportunities , especially for young people , so that emigration may stop because it is a source of threat for the future of our country , as no nation can build a future for itself independently of its young generations . We urge each and every citizen to mobilize their resources to help rebuild the country . The return of all displaced persons in a top priority . They have waited for too long and many have been wounded in their human dignity . We sincerely hope that the new plan for their return will be implemented thoroughly and efficiently . On the other hand we shall continue to support earnestly the various building projects sponsored by the church and the various Congregations and religious orders .

10 – As we prepare to enter the third millennium we appeal to all our faithful living in Lebanon to cultivate a sense of hope m the hope that God planted in their hearts , He is the God of the future . Furthermore , we are all urged to pursue the efforts we have been earnestly deploying for the implementation of the recommendations set in the Post-Synod Apostolic Exhortation so that all individuals , communities and institutions may renew themselves and make their contribution to the building of a great future for Lebanon , along with all their co-citizens , a future worthy of the historic and noble vocation of their country . Finally we call upon our faithful scattered in Maronite communities all over the world to remain firmly attached to their great spiritual and human heritage and to serve faithfully the countries where they are living and contribute , as significantly as possible , to promote of freedom , human rights and the dignity of all human beings without however forgetting to visit their country of origin , especially during this Jubilee Year , because the land of their fathers is proud of them . We offer our prayers for all our brothers and sisters in Lebanon and in the Diaspora and, through the intercession of Our Lady of Lebanon , we implore God’s abundant blessings and graces upon them all .
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