Under the patronage of His Eminence the Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Al Rahi, represented by Bishop Antoine Nabil Andari, and within the framework of launching the “Life’s Day” in Lebanon, the USEK Students Affairs Office, in collaboration with “I have the Right to Live” Association, organized on March 24, 2011 a conference on how to face abortion.

Rev. Fr. Tony El Khoury, Head of the “I have the Right to Live” Association, underlined in his speech that amid a social status quo illustrated by a clash between “the culture of life” and “the culture of death”, and with the silence of media and society, “we have become aware of a desperate need to take action on both religious and national levels in order to set a comprehensive strategy to promote ‘life’”. He also declared March 24, a date between the Mother’s Day and the Annunciation, as “Life’s Day”, emphasizing that the Association will deploy all necessary efforts to make this occasion a national day, as part of its main objectives. In turn, Rev. Fr. Hady Mahfouz, USEK Rector, expressed his delight in hosting his event which goes in line with the liturgical mission. He pointed out that the University is constantly inspired by the values of the Lebanese Maronite Order, among which the service of humanity without any kind of discrimination and the promotion of spiritual values. Whereas Bishop Andari considered that the initiative to make this occasion a national day has several connotations which advocate the dignity of human beings and the human life with all its sacred values and dimensions. He also stressed the need to respect human life and maintain it as of conception, respecting the right to live which should never be denied or disregarded.