{"id":1069,"date":"2012-09-14T08:03:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-14T08:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/maronite-priest-says-muslims-will-welcome-pope-to-lebanon\/"},"modified":"2012-09-14T08:03:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-14T08:03:00","slug":"maronite-priest-says-muslims-will-welcome-pope-to-lebanon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/09\/maronite-priest-says-muslims-will-welcome-pope-to-lebanon\/","title":{"rendered":"Maronite priest says Muslims will welcome Pope to Lebanon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Rome, Italy, Sep 14, 2012 \/ 02:03 am (CNA<\/a>).- The Rector of Rome\u2019s Pontifical Maronite College predicts that all the people of Lebanon \u2013 Muslims included \u2013 will welcome Pope Benedict XVI to their country at the start of Apostolic Visit Sept. 14-16.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMuslims are also waiting for the Holy Father\u2019s visit and there will certainly be many who await the moments Pope\u2019s arrival at the airport and drive to the nunciature,\u201d said Msgr. Antoine Gebran who was back in his homeland recently to witness preparations for the 3-day visit at first hand.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOne of the Muslim leaders said, \u2018We must welcome the Pope with the streets covered in roses.\u2019 That is, it\u2019s a sign of eastern spirituality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tMsgr. Gebran spoke to CNA before this week\u2019s outbreak of militant Muslim protest against United States diplomatic missions in the Middle East. The violence was sparked by the posting on YouTube of extracts of a low-budget US film mocking the Prophet Mohammed, the 6-7th century founder of Islam.<\/p>\n

\tOn Tuesday, Sept. 11 a mob stormed the United States consulate in the Libyan city of Benghazi which left four Americans dead including the US ambassador to the country, J Christopher Stevens.<\/p>\n

\tWhile similar protests have not emerged so far in Lebanon, recent events are likely for form a backdrop to Pope Benedict\u2019s discussions with Muslim leaders on Saturday, Sept. 15. Msgr. Gebran feels that the Pope has a particular ability to bring peoples and religions together.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAll await the Pope with pleasure, because they see the Pope not only as a religious, Catholic or state leader, no, in Lebanon there are many state leaders. They see him as a symbol, as the successor of Peter and an apostle of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Church that is in full communion with the Bishop of Rome. It forms just one element within Lebanon\u2019s patchwork of religious communities.<\/p>\n

\tIt is estimated that around 60 percent of Lebanese citizens are Muslim with an even split in numbers between Shia and Sunni Islam. There is also a small but historically significant Druze community.<\/p>\n

\tThe Christian population constitutes about 39 percent of the population manifested in various Catholic and Orthodox churches. The Maronite Church is the largest such Christian group with 23 percent of the population as adherents.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSo, the papal visit important for everyone: Catholic Christians, Orthodox Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims and the Druze,\u201d Msgr. Gebran suggested.<\/p>\n

\tThe highpoint of the Papal Visit will be the Pope\u2019s signing of his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in the Middle East on Friday Sept. 14.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe most important part of the visit is to confirm that he chose Lebanon because in Lebanon all of these confessions are found, not only Catholics or Orthodox, but all of the communities that believe in God,\u201d said Msgr. Gebran.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Rome, Italy, Sep 14, 2012 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- The Rector of Rome’s Pontifical Maronite College predicts that all the people of Lebanon – Muslims included – will welcome Pope Benedict XVI to their country at the start of Apostolic Visit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nMaronite priest says Muslims will welcome Pope to Lebanon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rome, Italy, Sep 14, 2012 \/ 02:03 am (CNA).- The Rector of Rome’s Pontifical Maronite College predicts that all the people of Lebanon – Muslims included – will welcome Pope Benedict XVI to their country at the start of Apostolic Visit...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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