“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” —Jesus, Gospel of Mark 3:25 “In what is necessary, unity; in what is not necessary, liberty, and in all things, charity.” —Saint Augustine Letter #161, 2021: Giving Tuesday #2, November 30 Dear friend, Greetings! In 1986, I found myself in Rome working on [...]
Statue of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, Lebanon. This shrine, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is visited by many Maronite Catholics and by many Orthodox, but it is also visited by many Muslims of good will who have a devotion to the Blessed Mother. It could become a place from which a new vision [...]
Lebanon Update #2, 2021, August 3: A Path Forward "The Lebanon financial and economic crisis is likely to rank in the top 10, possibly top three, most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century." —Conclusion of the Lebanon Economic Monitor, Spring 2021, "Lebanon Sinking (to the Top 3)," a publication of The World Bank "The [...]
Letter #57, Friday, July 16, 2021: Lebanon: Looking for Hope "May God protect Lebanon." -- Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, after resigning yesterday at the Baabda presidential palace in Lebanon Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks at the presidential palace after resigning yesterday, July 15, 2021. Hariri had served as Prime Minister of Lebanon a decade [...]
Letter #44, Thursday, July 1, 2021: Lebanon in Vatican #2 "Let us recognize that there is no other way to come to the dawn than by passing through the night. And in the night of crisis, all of us need to remain united." --Pope Francis in his address today after meeting with the Christian leaders of [...]
Friends of Lebanon A Project of Unitas Shining the "light of hope" June 30, 2021 Tomorrow, July 1, a summit will take place in Rome between Pope Francis and key religious leaders of Lebanon. The pope will host the Maronite patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the Syro-Catholic patriarch, Ignace Youssif III Younan, the Chaldean bishop [...]
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and American President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 16, in one week Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev (above), a key figure in the Russian Church, has spoken in cautiously hopeful terms about the upcoming meeting of the American and Russian presidents Letter #32, 2021, [...]
Above, the moment of the terrible explosion on the evening of Tuesday, August 4, 2020, in Beirut, Lebanon. The massive explosion unleashed a terrific shock wave that traveled outward for 6 miles, knocking out windows, killing more than 150, and wounding thousands. Above, two different views of the explosion, one a close-up, and one from [...]
