The Dual Peril Facing Eastern Christians
Fady Noun 09:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Pope Francis Damascus Christians Lebanon Massabki brothers Syria
On June 22, a deadly bombing inside Damascus’s Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Elijah during Mass claimed 25 lives and left around 50 injured. In response, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, Youhanna X, rightly declared that the victims deserve to be honored as martyrs of the faith, just as those who perished in past tragedies in Lebanon, ...
Climate Change: Salvation Through Poetry
Fady Noun 05/07 09:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Pope Francis Donald Trump Europe USA global warming
The current heatwave scorching Europe and the drought gripping Lebanon trace back to a single root cause: climate disruption driven by global warming and soaring CO₂ emissions—both reflecting what Pope Francis memorably called “despotic anthropocentrism,” a worldview that elevates humankind above all else, heedless of the rich diversity ...
Thérèse of Lisieux: Holiness Made Possible
Fady Noun 28/06 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Lebanon Christians St Therese Relics
The relics of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux are currently touring Lebanon. Despite certain excesses—such as the brevity of some “visits” and the hurried processions past her reliquary—this form of popular devotion remains deeply rooted in Church tradition. The veneration of relics—and belief in their power—dates back centuries. As ...
Khatchig Babikian: A Perfect Symbiosis of Lebanese and Armenian Identities
Fady Noun 21/06 12:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Khatchig Babikian Lebanon civil war Cyprus Syria Christians Armenians
Christine Babikian Assaf offers us an unfinished yet invaluable work: the Memoirs of her father, Khatchig Babikian—a towering figure of Lebanese parliamentary history in the 20th century and one of the key architects of the Taif Agreement. Published under the title “My Lives”, this book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand ...
From Jerusalem to Beirut, a Unique Journal: Proche-Orient Chrétien
Fady Noun 01/06 11:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Pope Francis Israel Lebanese University Middle East Palestine
“The Middle East is a powder keg that has exploded! At this moment, the damage cannot be measured, and the future seems more uncertain than ever. The excess of violence and the prevailing chaos leave us perplexed and challenge both political and religious authorities. International interference suggests a plan to reconfigure the region — but ...
Pope Francis and the Grace of God
Fady Noun 26/04 21:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Despite appearances that may lead some to think the world is merely an endless repetition, History has meaning: the world is moving toward something. A deadly struggle between truth and falsehood marks this History. One need look no further than the fabrications currently infesting the internet—fabrications involving dates, predictions, and ...
Pope Francis: "Providence Will Never Forsake Lebanon"
Fady Noun 21/04 16:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Pope Francis Hezbollah Israel US Secretary of State USA
Pope Francis has always kept Lebanon close to his heart. According to those close to him and many of his visitors, the Holy Father has remained closely informed about developments in the country. While he has not visited Lebanon—due to both health concerns and the political vacuum created by the absence of a president and a fully functioning ...
The Wounds of Love on the Resurrected Body
Fady Noun 20/04 15:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, leaving behind his boundless love and many mysteries yet to be understood. Unlike his resurrection, which happened with no witnesses, his ascension took place before the eyes of his stunned disciples. He defied gravity, and then a cloud took him from their sight—so much so that two angels had ...
The Feast of Palms: ‘A Red (Blood) Carpet for Jesus’
Fady Noun 13/04 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Jesus begins the final act of His earthly life with pure joy: the act of His Passion and His victory over death, the ultimate transformation of the human race. This pure joy is that of Palm Sunday, commemorated by the Church on the last Sunday of Lent. It is, in anticipation, the joy of Easter itself. Yet the shadow of the Cross subtly looms over ...
Rediscovering Jean Ducruet: The Man Who Preserved Saint Joseph University
Fady Noun 22/03 12:40 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Damascus Europe Middle East Pope Francis USA
The chaplaincy of Saint Joseph University (USJ) had the inspired idea this year to honor Father Jean Ducruet (1922–2010), rector of USJ from 1975 to 1995, by dedicating its 8th Jesuit Week (March 10–14) to him. This tribute coincided with the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding in 1875. To rediscover Father Jean Ducruet, one need ...
The “Old Man” and Violence
Fady Noun 15/03 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
One can only be horrified by the atrocities that have recently unfolded in the “Alawite country,” just a few hundred kilometers from our television screens. In the age of smartphones, the images have reached us, more graphic and harrowing than ever before. The interim Syrian president, Ahmad al-Shareh, has promised an investigation and the ...
The Motives Behind the Israeli Civil Incursion at Tel Abbad
Fady Noun 08/03 12:53 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
After weeks of failed attempts, and under the pretext of praying at the tomb of Rabbi Rav Achi, a 4th-century scholar from the Babylonian exile period, several hundred Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews, escorted by the Israeli military, crossed the Blue Line (the technical border demarcated by the UN) yesterday at a location known as Tel Abbad, near the ...
The Alignment of Calendars: Christians and Muslims Will Fast Together This Year
Fady Noun 01/03 09:25 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
This year, due to a calendar alignment, Christian and Muslim fasting periods will overlap during the lunar month of Ramadan, which runs from March 1 to March 29. Their fasts begin just two days apart: Saturday, March 1 for Muslims and Monday, March 3 for Eastern Christians. For Latin Catholics, Lent starts two days later, on Wednesday, March 5, ...
APECL in Search of Greater Pastoral Efficiency
Fady Noun 22/02 15:40 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Founded in 1967, the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon (APECL) is undergoing structural renewal to enhance pastoral efficiency and improve the management of its assets. This ambitious goal was the focus of its 57th ordinary session, held at the Bethania Retreat House (Harissa, February 17–20), after being postponed from the ...
La Salle College in Cairo Hosts the 5th Conference of Francophone Catholic Schools in the Middle East
Fady Noun 09/02 10:20 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
They are 400,000 students—half of them in Lebanon—deeply rooted in Francophonie, immersed in a culture of unrivaled richness and diversity. Teaching these 400,000 students and instilling in them the values of coexistence—while half of them envision their future beyond the Arab Francophone world where they grew up—is one of the most ...
The Vatican Calls for a Unified Easter Date
Fady Noun 03/02 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
European Union Pope Francis USA
During the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, observed from January 18 to 25, Pope Francis voiced his support for unifying the date of Easter. "The Catholic Church is willing to accept the date that everyone agrees on: a date of unity," he stated. Catholics and Orthodox Christians traditionally celebrate Easter on different dates due to ...
Are We on the Brink of Another Bloody Sunday in the South?
Fady Noun 01/02 14:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel South Lebanon
A new call has been issued for Sunday to reclaim villages where Israel maintains a presence. The impulse driving Southerners back to their villages could be seen as undeniably noble—if it were spontaneous. It carries a moral legitimacy, rooted in their deep attachment to the land and the duty to honor civilians whose bodies remain buried beneath ...
Eastern Patriarchs: The Challenge of Unity
Fady Noun 24/01 08:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Europe Middle East USA Christians Lebanon
The unity of Christians has never been more vital amid the evolving realities of the Middle East. The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” observed from January 18 to 25, offers a timely opportunity to reaffirm this essential mission. This annual tradition boasts a complex history. It originated from the 19th-century ecumenical movement aimed ...
Is Flexibility on Lebanon’s Prison Crisis Looming?
Fady Noun 12/01 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Roumieh Prison Islamists HTS Syria Lebanon
Although the issue was not explicitly mentioned during the joint press conference between Syria’s new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, the matter of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons – an intersection of humanitarian, judicial and political concerns – was reportedly discussed during their ...
A Farewell to Arms
Fady Noun 04/01 08:30 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Hezbollah Iran Shiism Lebanon Arms
A farewell to arms is the essential condition for a return to normal political life in Lebanon, whether or not a new president is elected on January 9. Hezbollah must reinvent itself and relinquish all military autonomy. After everything that has happened, a return to the status quo ante is out of the question, and the Speaker of Parliament must ...
Christmas at the Southern Border: A Beacon of Hope
Fady Noun 2024-12-27 10:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Lebanon Rmeich Kley'a South Christmas
In a Lebanon cautiously stabilized by the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Paolo Borgia chose to celebrate Christmas in Rmeish (14,000 inhabitants) and Kley’a (2,500 inhabitants), two Maronite border towns that faced immense hardships during the 14-month war ...
The Wall of Time
Fady Noun 2024-12-24 10:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
It is from the night that the Savior came, and it is in the night that He was born. He came from the night of time, as He is the eternal “Son of the Father,” according to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, and He was born in the night, as witnessed by the shepherds and as the Scriptures say: “While gentle silence enveloped all things, and ...
The Tale of the Christmas Coins
Fady Noun 2024-12-22 09:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Once upon a time, in a small village nestled in the snow-covered mountains of Lebanon, there lived a group of playful and curious children. This peaceful and friendly village was known for a special tradition that occurred every Christmas: the mysterious “Christmas Coins.” The villagers, gruff yet somewhat mystical, spoke of these ...
Syrian Christians Who Took on the Challenge of Trust
Fady Noun 2024-12-15 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
Introduced by Vincent Gelot, L'Œuvre d'Orient's representative in Syria and Lebanon, the conference featured addresses by Archbishop Jacques Mourad, the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs, Hama and Debek, Sister Jihane, a member of the Soeurs de Besançon (Sisters of Besançon) and director of Damascus' largest Christian school, and Salim Safir, ...
Near Tyre, a Shiite Maqam Dedicated to Saint Peter
Fady Noun 2024-12-08 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The medieval castle of Chameh, near Tyre, and the “maqam” of Shimon el-Safa that it houses are among the archaeological treasures for which Lebanon requested “enhanced protection” from UNESCO against the risks of war. However, the ground fighting in November between Hezbollah and the Israeli Army overran the request in question. The ...
Is the Ceasefire Owed to the Miraculous Medal?
Fady Noun 2024-11-30 18:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Ceasefire Hezbollah Israel Virgin Mary
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27, coinciding with the Latin Church’s feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. For many, this timing is seen as a divine gift, strengthening their faith that the end of hostilities was heaven-sent. The Chapel of the Miraculous Medal on Rue du Bac in Paris holds a deep ...
Lebanon, the Unloved
Fady Noun 2024-11-24 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
As “good” Lebanese, we celebrate our independence amidst chaos and bombs. An entire book could be written about how we became Lebanese, after being fragments of many other identities. I could recount my own journey of rediscovering memory and identity—borrowing the title of an overlooked book by John Paul II—how I stopped ...
Caramel, Candy, and Chocolate: The Spectacle of Barbarism
Fady Noun 2024-11-16 13:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Hezbollah Israel Pope Francis USA
Once again, I find myself watching on television, weary and disheartened, as the rubble of a home targeted by an Israeli strike lies collapsed over its occupants. This time, the scene is in Ain Yaacoub (Akkar) — a modest two-story house, typical of rural areas, its construction unfinished, with parts still bare cement due to a lack of funds. ...
The Potential for a Civilization
Fady Noun 2024-11-09 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
“In recent days, there has been much talk of war, civilization and the need to defend it. I am not convinced that one defends civilization by sowing barbarism oneself. Yet, I am certain of this: the very prospect of civilization is at stake in Lebanon. It is about the ability of men and women of different origins and faiths to coexist on the ...
What Naim Qassem Still Hasn’t Grasped
Fady Noun 2024-11-02 15:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Middle East Benjamin Netanyahu Palestine USA
It is a fact: naivety, egocentrism and various underestimations are among the unpredictable elements that shape the course of history. A clear example of this can be seen in the speech delivered this week by the new Secretary General of Hezbollah. What Naim Qassem has yet to grasp is that he is not alone in Lebanon, and many Lebanese do not share ...