Final Statement

40^th Session of the Council

of the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon

1.         Between 13-18 November 2006, the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, His Beatitude, Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros presided at the Council of the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, which held its 40th annual ordinary meeting in the Maronite patriarchal See with the participation of their Beatitudes, Gregorius the third Laham, Melkite Patriarch of Antioch, the Orient, Alexandria and Jerusalem, Ignatius Peter VIII Abdelahad, Patriarch of the Syriac Catholics, and Nersès Pédros XIX Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia for the Catholic Armenians. The Bishops of the Catholic Churches in Lebanon, the General Superiors and their delegates, and members of the Mother Superiors' Committee also took place in the meeting. And Father Visvaldas Kulbokas, Chargé d'Affaires of the nunciature attended the opening session as well.

The meeting tackled the question of "the Parish and pastoral work", thus continuing the topic of the previous session: "Christian formation for the faithful". His Beatitude, Cardinal Sfeir, Chair of the Council, presented the question in his opening speech, and Bishop Luigi Gatti, Apostolic Nuncio highlighted its importance in a speech that the Chargé d'Affaires of the nunciature delivered on his behalf, as he was out of Lebanon.

In a telegram sent by His Beatitude, Patriarch Sfeir on behalf of the members to His Holiness, Pope Benedictus XVI's, the Council sought his Holiness’s apostolic blessing for themselves, for Lebanon and for all Lebanese. After a general presentation of the topic, a number of pastors and some lay faithful put forth life testimonies on the status of the parish and pastoral work, the pastor's pastoral ministry and his continuous formation, and the lay faithful's role in the life of the parish, and the apostolate of the Church and their religious education. Dialogue groups were set up to study the questions in depth and then brought out some practical suggestions.

Afterwards, the session adopted administrative measures and varied recommendations and decisions in the light of the reports presented by both the Episcopal Commissions stemming from the Council and the Bodies that it supervises.

The Council gave the national question a particular attention because of the serious circumstances that Lebanon is now experiencing and issued the following:

Part I: Topic of the Session

The Parish, Cell of the Church and Society

2.         Membership in the Universal Church begins in the parish, which is "a specific community of faithful, set up in a certain diocese, in a constant way, be it within the limits of a definite area or at the level of a given people. The pastoral care in it is the responsibility of a pastor who guides it on behalf of the Bishop"(Canon 279). This attribute is considered "the cell of the diocese" (decision in Lay people's apostolate, 10) and "a miniature Church" "representing the visible Church present in the world" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 42). It is even the Church living in the midst of Her sons and daughters (Apostolic Exhortation: Lay Faithful, 26). The Bishop guarantees its stability and growth through the pastor, his assistant. The parish includes the means of communion with God and the communion between people, which are: the Gospel, the grace of the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, all for eternal life. It shines as a sign bearing witness to the communion.

As responsible pastors we have given the Parish all of our attention in order that it become a living parish, a dynamic cell of the Church and society, created by the Holy Eucharist "Developing the Church, source of her life and apex of the apostolate" (Pope John Paul II: The Church from the Eucharist,1). In fact, this Sacrament gathers the faithful in a spiritual community: the Body of Christ and a human community whose members are joined by the links of a mutual knowledge, love and solidarity, and who testify to the love of God in the unity of this Body (John 17/21). Thanks to this sacrament, the faithful will be like-minded, have the same love, and be one in spirit and purpose, having the same morality as Christ (Philippians 2/2-5). They will mark temporal matters with the seal of the Gospel.

This way, the parish will be "The family of God", a community of faith and an organic organized community" (Lay faithful, 26) that will show the unity of the Church within the local communities wherein each member occupies its own place according to the gifts the Holy Spirit dispenses for the benefit of the whole body.

It is true that parishes are numerous, nevertheless, they are called to be "One flock under one Shepherd", who is Christ. By belonging to the diocese and interacting with it, these parishes are similar to the first Christian community in the developing Church (Acts 2/42-47).

3.         However, changes occurring in the parish, as an organic and organized community, have led to the formation of four different types of parishes, each of which presents certain challenges that require solutions:

a.    Mountainous regions that have few inhabitants for the majority of the year. The people in such regions have moved to large coastal cities. These latter needs to organize common activities enabling the faithful to feel they belong to the Church. At the same time, we should work with the State and the other parties to maintain the inhabitants of the mountain in their villages and towns by providing the necessary elements: roads, institutions, job opportunities...

b.    Large cities and their suburbs welcome communities having different customs, mentalities, cultural levels and ecclesial affiliations. Here, there is a need for coordination in the districts among pastors, apostolic organizations, and religious and lay people. Thus, organized communities will be formed, granting the faithful a feeling of belonging to the parish and the Church.

c.    The large monastic parishes in the city or the churches attached to religious orders. These have the means to carry out an integral pastoral work and they attract the faithful away from their parishes, sometimes to the extent of emptying these latter. Therefore, these parishes should use all means to assist the pastors in neighboring parishes. This kind of cooperation comes when the pastors ask for help in their churches and when the religious communities are ready to overcome the obstacles to provide the help needed.

d.    The big parishes that have numerous pastors, religious orders and apostolic organizations require more coordination, cooperation and communication in order to form a living, active and witnessing community.

The Pastor's role

4.         Whether the parish is geographical or personal, we work with it to recover its face, the face of Christ and the Church, thus the face of God: "I seek Your face, O Lord" (Psalm 27). For this reason, the parish must live in a state of continuous renewal—a renewal which the Bishop and the pastor lead, in cooperation with the living forces in it. Most importantly, the parish should be an active community that bears witness to Christ in its society like the yeast in the dough. This task is incumbent upon the pastor, who represents the bishop at whose hands he is consecrated, from whom he gets the apostolate and with whom he participates in Christ's sole priesthood and the apostolate of salvation (Presbyterorum ordinis, 7). First, the pastor commits himself, in his evangelical spiritual life, to follow Christ, the Eternal Priest, the Divine Teacher and the Good Shepherd. His first concern will be that each individual in his parish cultivates a deep communion with God in Christ, through a conscious, educated and responsible faith. The pastor's presence in the parish is a continuation of Christ's presence there, for it is on His behalf that he works and in His person that he exercises his ministry in its different fields in accordance with the directives of the Magisterium of the Church, particularly in the documents of Council Vatican II and the Apostolic Exhortations.

5.         The pastor's role isn't restricted to the care given to the sons and daughters of his parish. This care must be extended to embrace followers of other Churches and non Christians. Those are all called to live in what is known as "the dialogue of life, culture and living-together" (New Hope for Lebanon, 91-92).

At the level of communion within the Catholic Church, the pastor and the parish join in cooperation and coordination for the sake of the one apostolate and comply with the pastoral plan, which the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon set up in its annual session, and with the applied and practical initiatives of the committees of the Council, and with the Episcopal Commissions stemming from the Council.

Concerning the ecumenical aspect, the communities existing in the territories of the same parish continue to cooperate in bearing witness to Christ "by giving priority to the truth and the dialogue of charity, by respecting tradition and feelings, by discovering the common Antiochene heritage and delving into it (New Hope for Lebanon, 86). We commend the initiatives of ecumenical cooperation in the same parish and between neighboring parishes, but we encourage them on the condition that they be coordinated according to the principles and directives included in "Guide for ecumenical work” (Pontifical Council for the Christians’ unity issued it on 25 March 1993).

With respect to genuine co-existence, the parish provides a place to revive communal living through transparency and cooperation in the public arena, especially in the areas of development, solidarity and moral values. Sanctuaries and Christian pilgrimages are a vital and pure space to build bridges, to strengthen the relations between Christians and Moslems, far away from political movements, fanaticism and Puritanism, and a place to focus upon spiritual values, which are the source of the real peace stemming from God. Should this peace prevail in the hearts, people will be open to each other with mutual respect and cooperation.

Pastoral Work

6.         The pastoral work draws its soul and content from “Christ the Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5/4) and from the fact that the community of faithful constitutes “God’s flock that is entrusted to the pastors’ care, so that they would whole heartedly give it the proper pastoral and spiritual care, not by lording it but by setting the good example for the flock” (1 Peter 5/2-3). We believe the Lord Jesus is still present in the middle of the faithful preaching the word of God, granting the mysteries of faith and leading the people of the new covenant towards eternal happiness (Apostolic Exhortation: Shepherds of the flock, 6), through the ministry of the bishops, their assistants, the pastors and the committed lay people.

The Eastern Code of Canon Law (Canon 289) defines the functions of the pastoral work in the light of the theological and biblical teaching. These functions result from the participation in the three dimensional sacerdotal apostolate of Christ: teaching, sanctification and the pastorate. Bishops, as successors of the Apostles, receive these functions from the Lord, in order to exercise them as a sanctified ministry with their assistants, the pastors (Lumen Gentium 24-27).

The teaching function requires that the priest preaches and teaches all the faithful to be deeply rooted in faith, hope and charity, to grow in Christ and to fulfill the testimony of charity. It also requires that he guides them through catechesis to know the mystery of salvation in a way that matches each age category. He will do this with the help that members of religious institutions and competent lay people provide (Canon 289, item 1).

As regards the sanctification ministry, celebrating mass will be the center around which the entire life of the whole Christian community revolves. The pastor shall exert himself to present the spiritual nourishment to the faithful by accepting the mysteries of faith and consciously taking part in the liturgical prayers. The priest is also asked to give a particular consideration and sufficient time to the sacrament of penitence and reconciliation (item 2).

With respect to the pastoral function, it dictates that the pastor knows his parishes as the shepherd knows his flock. He should also encourage the development of Christian life in individuals, apostolic organizations and the whole pastoral community. Therefore, he must visit homes and schools, oversee the children and youth, tend to the poor, the sick and the orphans and help the faithful in discerning their gifts and making use of them in the apostolic work (item 3).

The pastoral work isn’t confined to the bishop and his priests; the people of God are called to take part in it. In fact, the faithful, through their baptism, have the right and the duty to participate in it in accordance with their situation in Christ’s triple ministry (Decision in lay people’s apostolate, 3). This is also true as far as the consecrated are concerned by virtue of their vows (Directives as to the mutual relations, 9/c).

Christian Formation for the Faithful

7.         The residential bishop takes on the responsibility of the Christian formation of the people in his diocese. He also works to train the pastors and helps them undertake this function in their parishes. As a group of young people and priests have pointed out recently in a survey on “The pastor and the youth”, there is a pressing need for the pastor to be continually present in his parish and to show his permanent readiness to server his flock. As a matter of fact, “Every priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God” (Hebrews 5/1). The very numerous responsibilities laying on the priests’ shoulders may be an obstacle to the fulfillment of their main apostolate i.e. educating the youth and giving counsel to the apostolic movements, the professional bodies and those working in the fields of culture, economy and politics. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze the obstacles and to seek to eliminate them with the lay people’s help. At appropriate times, the lay faithful can assist the priests by carrying out certain functions that are incumbent upon them, and which, if the priest had to carry out, might prevent him from devoting himself to the “only thing required”. There is also a need for religious men and women to participate in pastoral work, as they can play a leading role in schools by cooperating with the youth, counseling the apostolic organizations, forming choirs, and other such activities.

Christian formation aims at helping the faithful arrive at a deep communion with God in Christ. Drawing upon this union with God in Christ, they will be able to effectively witness to charity in their society. The apostolic movements are the most convenient place to form the Christian youth according to the method that the Lord Jesus adopted with the two disciples of Emmaus who were walking towards the unknown, without hope and full of sadness, like some of our young people today (Luke 24/13-35).

Formation is based first of all on a personal relation between the pastor and the young people: he walks with them in their path, he listens to their hardships and their aspirations, he educates their minds with the word of God and the teaching of the Church, helping them to read the signs of time, explaining to them the events of daily life in the light of divine word, giving them Christ’s answers to their many questions and staying with them in solidarity. This formation leads to the Eucharist. This latter opens their eyes so that they may get to know Christ. It revives the zeal and increases the enthusiasm for testimony and the apostolate in the heart of the ecclesial community. The youth will also realize their Church is the Church of charity embodied in deeds, the Church of openness to all people with a spirit of service, and the Church of testimony to global brotherhood through an unselfish spirit.

How pressing is the need for the pastor to follow this method with couples and new families, whether in the parish, in “the center of preparation for marriage” or in “the center of listening and family counseling”? In fact, formation is at the heart of the family pastorate and a priority in the apostolate of the Church. In the family, the first structure of society is knitted, in the family the education of the youth occurs; these young people today will be those responsible for the country tomorrow. In the family, children grow with the knowledge of God’s presence and learn confidence in His paternal compassion. In the family, Christian faith passes from one generation to another and the calls to marriage, to priesthood and consecrated life begin there too, as parents present to their children an example to follow in prayer and contemplation on the word of God (New Hope for Lebanon, 46, Letter of the Council of the Catholic Patriarchs of the East: the family, responsibility of the Church and the State, 37).

Moreover, we need to encourage the sons and daughters of our dioceses and parishes to bring their Christian education into the centers of religious education and to set up such centers where they are lacking.

We call upon pastors and the living forces in parishes to create legal pastoral structures, that is, assemblies, commissions, organizations and others, so that these structures will provide continuous Christian formation for their members. As a matter of fact, lay faithful education aims at helping them to discover their personal vocation and their mission in the Church, and then at preparing them for committed participation in the pastoral work at the level of the parish and the diocese; it also teaches them to assist the pastor in his pastoral tasks (Lay faithful, 58).

At this point, it is imperative to appreciate well the contribution of the Voice of Charity and Télé Lumière / Noursat, in the fields of religious education, formation and genuine membership in the Church.

The Pastor’s Formation

8.         It is true the topic of our Council’s session is well defined and is “The Parish and the Pastoral Work”, but owing to the broad spectrum of activities in pastoral work and to its many varied needs, it is necessary to address the formation of pastors. This is also needed due to the social, economic and cultural changes that are constantly taking place; these changes place new and extra obligations on pastors, and require special training and formation.

9.         In seminaries, we must stress sacerdotal formation according to the different experiences that have emerged in actual pastoral work. The cleric must receive a formation that is relevant, accurate, and realistic, so that he will be able to fulfill the mission of the sacerdotal apostolate in a missionary spirit, that is rooted in solid liturgical practice.

We encourage a close cooperation among those responsible for formation in seminaries. They should be aware of the various types of formation and of the different programs that may be effective in forming the young men to spread the Gospel. Those responsible for teaching the seminarians should be mindful of the proper order of study and should be especially careful to ensure that the quality of pastoral theology, which should be obligatory, is very high.

10.       As to the fields and the content of the pastor’s formation, we find it must include the spiritual, human, cultural liturgical and pastoral fields. The Apostolic Exhortation, “Pastores dabo vobis” (paragraphs 43-59) elaborated on this point.

The spiritual formation emphasizes the priority of the pastor’s spiritual life for the sake of a fruitful pastoral function, and also highlights the means available to develop this aspect continuously in his soul. The human formation refurbishes the pastor’s personality as a man and a servant. In fact, “every priest is selected from among men in order to be their servant”. This formation seeks to adorn the priest with the qualities of tenderness, mildness, patience, balance, charity, equity, loyalty and commitment. On its part, cultural formation provides him with the feature of universality characterized by the acquisition of an appropriate amount of information and the possibility to seriously integrate this information in a global vision. Liturgical formation turns the priest into a pastor zealous to serve souls, guiding them to adore God in spirit and truth (John 4/23), and to the sources of Christian life in the liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14). Finally, pastoral formation comes to embellish the pastor with spiritual fatherhood apparent in the ministry of grace and charity, increases his capacity to deliver the word of the Gospel and the teaching of the Church and gives him the necessary skills and ways to deal with people and to know the procedures of counseling, direction and dialogue.

Yet, continuous formation remains a means, the pastor must resort to, to revive the grace of God in him and to renew his knowledge in its different fields…The “Pastoral Letter to Priests” (the Council of the Catholic Patriarchs of the East dispatched on 15 August 2004, paragraphs 42-47) developed this type of formation in detail. It is the residential bishop's duty to give a special attention to his pastor's permanent formation. Thus, he should awaken them to its importance, draw up a plan for it and work, be it in his diocese or in cooperation with other dioceses, to establish an institute that insures "the continuous teaching" of the pastor, in order to help him grow continuously, acquire the spiritual and intellectual maturity and get experienced in the use of new pastoral means.

The National Concern

11.       The pastoral work encompasses all that organizes the relation of the faithful to their God, their brothers and sisters, their society and all creation, in addition to their relation to the different temporal activities from the spiritual and moral points of view.

The Church doesn't follow any given political or economic system, but accepts whichever system guarantees to citizens their rights and duties that will enable them to develop their personalities and enable them to afford a decent living for themselves and their children in an atmosphere of freedom, social justice, equality and equal opportunities. The task of the Church is "to contribute in purifying the mind from any moral blindness and from the temptation of personal interest and domination. Thus here and now, will be acknowledged what is just and right, and here and now will it be put into practice. The Church works too, to form the consciences in the political, and economic fields, to direct them towards the requirements of justice in a more global way and to urge them to work by virtue of these requirements even if in contradiction to personal interests (Pope Benedictus XVI : Deos Caritas est, 27).

12.       We call upon the political leaders in Lebanon to promote with sound politics the public good, and to support all social, economic, cultural and political aspects of life that enable citizens, families and groups to reach their full potential. (The Church in today's world, 74). Indeed, the public good is the only alibi for the existence of the political power. In it, this power finds its meaning and from it, it gets its rights. Thus, those in power do not have the right to turn politics into a means of serving their own interests and those of particular parties or governors of the State. The politicians' reconciliation with politics means that they practice it as it is: a noble art committed to promote right, freedom, justice and charity, which are the bases of peace (Pope John XXIII : Peace on earth, 35).

Reconciliation with politics requires that the power in charge provides for all the possibility to take part in the administration of the public affairs and that the officers have the moral values needed to practice their functions, these values being: credibility, transparency, honesty, intellectual courage, freedom of opinion and a responsible conscience. They must also commit themselves to make the public interest prevail over the individual and sectarian interest, and foster and practice consensual democracy, for it constitutes the sine qua non condition for Lebanon to maintain its particularities and its specific message. This culture gives discussion priority over discord, and logic priority over immediate passions. Moreover, it moves the citizens from the stage where they accept what is imposed on them to the stage where they act and influence their society. All this is brought about through perseverance and determination and through a hope in the real possibility of transformations that will improve the human condition (Maronite Patriarchal Council: The Church and politics. Paragraphs 46 and 47, 49-52).

13.       We urge the officials to address the present ministerial crisis in a spirit of responsibility and in a timely fashion, in line with the principles of the constitution and the National Pact, on the bases of truth, participation in power, genuine coexistence and accord, without discord, constriction and challenge. We also ask them to rescue the country from the stifling economic and social crises it is experiencing and to end the practice of impoverishment and displacement of the Lebanese people. We demand of them that they formulate a law for the parliamentary elections, one that is just and equitable, guaranteeing the best representation and enabling the citizens to choose their own representatives and to ask them to account for their actions.

We deeply and sorrowfully regret the dangerous rift and boycott between the 3 constitutional powers: the presidency, the legislative power and the executive power. This is a serious discredit (set back) to the high esteem of our major institutions and to the trust that the international community has in us. This discredit can not be tolerated neither by Lebanon nor by the Lebanese people. We demand that this abnormal and harmful situation be ended. Let us realize it is mostly harmful to students at schools and universities who get involved in the leaders' disputes at the expense of their studies and their future.

We particularly call upon the sons and daughters of our Churches who deal with public affairs to have political magnanimity and to be united for the cause of Lebanon, and not to be biased to this or that party but rather to be loyal to Lebanon all the way so that Lebanon and the Lebanese remain. Their practice of the political power should compel them to show respect to each other and to understand how to eliminate all that endangers peace and national unity. It also obliges them to protect the rights of the moral conscience and to combine faith and work.

Part II: Administrative Measures

The Association of Caritas Lebanon

14.       The Council carried out elections in the Association of Caritas-Lebanon at the levels of its bureau and its Council. These were the results in the bureau:

Father Louis Samaha was elected president for a 2^nd term, Mr. Farid Joubran treasurer, Mr. Fadi Georges Ibrahim, secretary.

In the council the results were as follows:

Statute of Télélumière TV / Noursat

15.       The Council charged the executive body to study the said statute with Télélumière TV / Noursat board of directors, then to submit it in a later date.

Part III: Recommendations and Decisions

16.       The Council voted on the recommendations and decisions that came out of the Episcopal Committees affiliated to it, and on the deliberations of the members in the Council. These will be published during this session in order to be put into effect.

Conclusion

17.       We thank God at the end of this session on the Parish and the pastoral work for how he has inspired us and our brothers and sisters in the Church to comply with His calling. Today he sends us out, even as he once sent out His Apostles (Matthew 28/19-20). We thus become a living sign of Jesus Christ : Teacher, Priest and Shepherd. Indeed, He is the icon we look up to in order to fulfill our ministry, as we proclaim to the world the hope of salvation.

While Lebanon is making the preparations to celebrate its Independence, we hope this feast will bring with it the inner peace and stability the Lebanese people are actively seeking.

During our spiritual journey towards Christmas, when "The Prince of peace" was born (Isaiah 9/5), we ask Him to establish a just and durable peace in this country and in the world, particularly in the Holy Land and Iraq. We beg Him to inspire the officials and men of good will to put an end to the tragedies of war, killing, displacement, violence and terrorism. "Where are the wise men? Let them talk and teach what the Lord has decided for His people" (Isaiah 19/11-13).

Finally, it is with a firm hope that we unite our prayer with the psalmist's: "In their distress they shouted to the Lord and he saved them from their hardships. He has sent His word to heal them and removed them from the pit. He has silenced the storm and the waves were still. God guided them to the wanted haven. Let us celebrate God for His loyalty and His miracles for the benefit of men. Let us exalt the Lord and praise His acts. Who wants to be wise? Let him mind all this and let us perceive the kindnesses of the Lord" (Psalm 107/19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 32, 43).