Maronite Synod final statement: No compromise on freedom

By Rita Boustani
Daily Star staff
Thursday, October 28, 2004

FATQA: The Maronite Synod strongly asserted Wednesday that no compromises would be made over freedom, justice
 and rightful demands and hoped Lebanon would be an example of reconciliation and unity to the whole world.

"There will be no backing down on rightful demands and no compromise on justice, freedom or people's dignity," the
Synod said in its final statement issued 10 days after discussions began at the Lady of the Mount Monastery in Fatqa.

The statement, which deno-unced Lebanon's lack of full sovereignty, said "Lebanon does not have full control over
its destiny," and warned that the country was still "subject to shocks that are almost killing its independence and freedom
of decision."

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, head of the Maronite Church, is known for calling for the recovery
of Lebanon's independence and sovereignty, and for rectifying Lebanese-Syrian relations.

The statement denounced that "not all the displaced have returned to their homes and lands, the economy is no
longer productive ... its society is burdened with debts, its families are in danger of being dismantled ... on all levels,
the ownership of its land is not protected and lands are sold to those who can afford it due to the increasing number of
poor people."

The statement strongly urged Lebanese youth to stay in the country and preserve it, saying that "their remaining in that
land was a guarantee for Lebanon to remain free."

It asserted the church was struggling with them "to solve their problems of housing and unemployment, and support
them in reforming the country and purifying it from corruption, hatred and the prevalence of personal interests."

During past years the Maronite Church built low-cost housing for young poor people aspiring to start a family.

The church urged private schools to establish funds that would enable them to educate one in four needy children free
of charge, and called on private universities to establish funds that would grant loans and scholarships to worthy students.

The final statement urged Catholics and Orthodox to look for their common Antiochian heritage and live according to it.

It also said that the meeting between Maronites living abroad and those residing here was "the start of a new era of
unity among the followers of this church."