Upon the invitation of the members of the European Parliament, members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and members of Parliament from Lebanon and the Middle East, with the support of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), USEK hosted on November 18 and 19, 2011 a colloquium on “The Future of Christians in the Middle East: A step forward to religious freedom”, under the patronage of His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al Rai.

Following the Lebanese National Anthem and the welcome speech presented by Mrs. Dolly Bachaalani, Rev. Fr. Hady Mahfouz delivered a speech in which he considered that “every believer is likely to be carried by an existential dynamism colored by faith, hopefulness and charity. It is the faith in God, who has a clear salvation plan, on which each human being can respond on his convenience”. He stressed that “joining God’s plan, coupled with the wisdom, discernment and clever reading of the current situation, provides the permanent happiness of individuals and societies”. Fr. Mahfouz thanked the MEPs for organizing this colloquium to show solidarity and support to Christians in the Middle East and to show esteem and respect to every man and every woman of good will. “I am so glad that this work comes within the framework of the Synod for the Middle East. This initiative echoes the address of the Holy Father Benedict XVI in Cyprus, on June 6, 2010, during the consignment of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Special Assembly of this Synod”, he added. At the end of his speech, Fr. Mahfouz concluded that “we are happy in Lebanon and the Middle East to be inhabited by the spirit of faith in God, father of all human beings, because we have hopefulness and we want to illustrate Christian charity. We are happy because men and women of good will of other religious communities are on our side in the construction of a society that respects the human dignity of every human being”.

Following the speeches of Mr. Maroun Karam, coordinator of the colloquium in Lebanon and the Middle East, and Dr. Catherine Vierling, coordinator of the colloquium in Europe, Dr. Gerhard Sabathil, Director for Strategy, Coordination and Analysis at the European External Action Service and coordinator of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, underlined that “we are in a new era where dialogue between governments is not enough: success requires engagement within and between societies. Here the European Parliament is unique in what it can offer to those in search of democracy, rule of law, human rights and freedom of religion”.

While Dr. Gianni Pitella, Vice-President of the European Parliament, pointed out in his speech that “we share the new message of the European Union which wants to connect the economic and financial cooperation to essential reforms. In this way, we can leverage a positive incentive to achieve the most qualified standards” not only free elections but also freedom of media, an independent judiciary and respect for freedom of religious belief”.

The Polish Ambassador to Lebanon, H.E. Mr. Thomas Nigodgiz, pointed out in his speech that “what we need today in the Middle East is a positive model of harmonious relations among Muslims, Christians and religious minorities, based upon common citizenship within a country that respects human rights”, mentioning that 3 years ago, and more specifically on March 25, Muslims and Christians were united on the Feast of the Annunciation which has become a national holiday witnessing the coexistence of Lebanese people.

Following a musical interlude by Mrs. Ghada Chbeir, the Apolistic Nuncio to Lebanon Gabriele Caccia highlighted the issue of religious freedom, citing part of the message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI during the Celebration of the World Day of Peace 2011: “The exploitation of religious freedom to disguise hidden interests, such as the subversion of the established order, the hoarding of resources or the grip on power of a single group, can cause enormous harm to societies. Fanaticism, fundamentalism and practices contrary to human dignity can never be justified, even less so in the name of religion. The profession of a religion cannot be exploited or imposed by force. States and the various human communities must never forget that religious freedom is the condition for the pursuit of truth, and truth does not impose itself by violence but by the force of its own truth. In this sense, religion is a positive driving force for the building of civil and political society”. “This is why Lebanon was described as a message, thanks to the dominant values of freedom, coexistence, dialogue and peace”, Caccia concluded.

Last but not least, His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al Rai called upon Christians to resist attempts by others to define them based solely on religious identity. “Christians and all of their friends should confront all attempts seeking to define our societies and countries on the basis of religious identity,” Rai said. Rai warned that while current developments and changes in the Arab world expressed a “kind of awareness and commitment to national identity, we fear that these changes will result in sectarian conflicts, harsher regimes and the division of the region based on sect.” Rai said that Christian presence in the Middle East was in need of “a proper and neutral political framework” so that Christians could perform their role and contribute to the development of societies. “The civil state, which separates between religion and political institutions without sidelining religion to the margin of public affairs, seems to be the framework which suits the current circumstances in our country,” he said. The Patriarch said that three challenges are facing Christians: security, the protection of essential freedoms and the recognition of diversity. Rai noted that security is the right of all people, and should be guaranteed by states. “That’s why this does not mean at all that the majority should necessarily protect the minority, for this is a fundamental and shared right for everyone that should be applied without any kind of discrimination or fanaticism.” He said that the concept of freedom is of “extreme importance” for Christians, citing the history of the Maronite.