{"id":16846,"date":"2012-09-14T20:08:52","date_gmt":"2012-09-15T02:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=16846"},"modified":"2016-09-30T17:04:59","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T21:04:59","slug":"in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/","title":{"rendered":"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It couldn\u2019t be a more timely or urgent declaration.<\/p>\n

Details:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to engage in dialogue with Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim neighbors, but also to affirm and defend their right to live freely in the region where Christianity was born.<\/p>\n

In a ceremony at the Melkite Catholic Basilica of St. Paul in Harissa, Pope Benedict signed and formally delivered a 90-page document of his reflections on the 2010 special Synod of Bishops, which was dedicated to Christians in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

A section of the document dedicated to interreligious dialogue encouraged Christians to \u201cesteem\u201d the region\u2019s dominant religion, Islam, lamenting that \u201cboth sides have used doctrinal differences as a pretext for justifying, in the name of religion, acts of intolerance, discrimination, marginalization and even of persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet in a reflection of the precarious position of Christians in most of the region today, where they frequently experience negative legal and social discrimination, the pope called for Arab societies to \u201cmove beyond tolerance to religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cpinnacle of all other freedoms,\u201d religious freedom is a \u201csacred and inalienable right,\u201d which includes the \u201cfreedom to choose the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one\u2019s beliefs in public,\u201d the pope wrote.<\/p>\n

It is a civil crime in some Muslim countries for Muslims to convert to another faith, and in Saudi Arabia, Catholic priests have been arrested for celebrating Mass, even in private.<\/p>\n

The papal document, called an apostolic exhortation, denounced \u201creligious fundamentalism\u201d as the opposite extreme of the secularization that Pope Benedict has often criticized in the context of contemporary Western society.<\/p>\n

Fundamentalism, which \u201cafflicts all religious communities,\u201d thrives on \u201ceconomic and political instability, a readiness on the part of some to manipulate others, and a defective understanding of religion,\u201d the pope wrote. \u201cIt wants to gain power, at times violently, over individual consciences, and over religion itself, for political reasons.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the rest. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s remarks at the signing are here.\u00a0 <\/a><\/strong>And the exhortation is available for reading at the Vatican website (pdf) <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also more local color and details at CNEWA\u2019s blog, One-to-One<\/a>,<\/strong> with some first-hand impressions by Msgr. John Kozar. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It couldn\u2019t be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to engage in dialogue with Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim neighbors, but also to affirm and defend their right to live freely in the region where Christianity was born. In a ceremony […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[602,39],"tags":[935,11210,11191],"class_list":["post-16846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-muslims","category-pope","tag-lebanon","tag-middle-east","tag-pope"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It couldn't be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It couldn't be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-15T02:08:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-30T21:04:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/files\/2012\/09\/2012-09-14T173317Z_22494758_GM1E89F047M01_RTRMADP_3_POPE-LEBANON-SECURITY-575x842.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/\",\"name\":\"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-15T02:08:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-30T21:04:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\"},\"description\":\"It couldn't be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\",\"name\":\"The Deacon's Bench\",\"description\":\"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\",\"name\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East","description":"It couldn't be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East","og_description":"It couldn't be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2012-09-15T02:08:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-09-30T21:04:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/files\/2012\/09\/2012-09-14T173317Z_22494758_GM1E89F047M01_RTRMADP_3_POPE-LEBANON-SECURITY-575x842.jpg"}],"author":"Deacon Greg Kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deacon Greg Kandra","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/","name":"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-09-15T02:08:52+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-30T21:04:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970"},"description":"It couldn't be a more timely or urgent declaration. Details: Pope Benedict XVI presented a major document calling on Catholics in the Middle East to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2012\/09\/in-lebanon-pope-issues-call-for-religious-freedom-in-middle-east\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In Lebanon, pope issues call for religious freedom in Middle East"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970","name":"Deacon Greg Kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Deacon Greg Kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16846\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}