Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi received the Qatari Ambassador Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Al Thani this morning at the patriarchal headquarters in Bkerke. The ambassador conveyed the greetings of the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and affirmed Qatar's support for the positions of the Patriarch and the Lebanese people.
Subsequently, he met with the General Coordinator of the Maronite Institutions Antoine Azar, who stated after the meeting: "This is a periodic visit to seek the Patriarch's blessing, especially when we come from abroad to Lebanon, to convey to His Beatitude the aspirations and hopes of the Lebanese for stability in the Lebanese situation, and to support his efforts and those of all the sincere people to achieve these hopes. I heard from Patriarch al-Rahi directives that enhance trust among the Lebanese and in Lebanon's future. In this context, I updated His Beatitude on what we, as businesspeople residing and dispersed, are planning in terms of programs and projects that deepen this trust, whether through our private companies or our institutions concerned with developing their social and developmental service programs."
He added: "The ongoing national crisis requires the utmost solidarity and cooperation among us, individuals and institutions, to enhance the steadfastness of the Lebanese in their land. It necessitates a moment of conscience to question how faithful we are to our message and the responsibilities entrusted to us. The lack of this fidelity distances some from the concept of service and sacrifice, leading to a hindrance of our efforts, a retreat of our initiatives, and a shaking of the unity of our institutional work, based on the notion that not everything we see as organized is so, and not everything we see as sound is indeed sound. This constitutes a fundamental issue in our civil and national work; therefore, we are working to organize a scientific workshop under the patronage and presence of His Beatitude Cardinal Rahi, to present its expertise and recommendations to support and enhance the service of love in our Church in both its human and developmental dimensions."
