“God, in his inscrutable
love, shaped you and set you apart with the indelible mark of a
particular election to his service. [. . .] You have chosen to resign
from your office as patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in this
special circumstance, and I accept your free and magnanimous decision as
an expression of great humility and profound detachment. I am sure that
you will always accompany the journey of the Maronite Church with your
prayers, your wise counsel and your sacrifice.”
On his return trip to Beirut, after presiding over the
ceremony of installation of the statue of Saint Maron in the last
unoccupied niche in the northern façade of Saint Peter’s Basilica, the
patriarch let it be known, indirectly, that the Maronite patriarchate
would not be left vacant for long.
The date for the conclave of the
Maronite Church to choose a new patriarch should be announced shortly in
order to take advantage of the presence in Rome of the 40 or so
Maronite bishops from around the world and thus spare many of them the
tiring and expensive trip to Lebanon.
Under the Canon Law of the Eastern Churches, the election of a new patriarch must be completed within two months of a vacancy. On
this occasion, the Maronite Church has opted for speed.
The conclave to
elect the new patriarch should be convened within ten days at the
latest.
It will be presided by the longest serving bishop in a non-stop
session.
The process should include three ballots.
In case of a draw,
the law allows for the intervention of the Holy See.
Speculations
Much speculation has whirled around Lebanon concerning
Patriarch Sfeir’s so-called “resignation”, a term that is both
inappropriate and too political.
Circles hostile to him claim that the
Holy See pushed him to quit because of his political views. This is not
what Benedict XVI’s letter says.
The latter speaks instead of “a free
and magnanimous decision”.
This said, it is clear that Patriarch Sfeir’s 2000
appeal helped the movement opposed to Syria’s 30-year stranglehold over
Lebanon grow until Syrian troops pulled out after the assassination of
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Since then, the patriarch’s hostility
towards Syrian political meddling in the internal affairs of Lebanon has
not changed, which earned him the hostility of pro-Syrian circles,
Maronites included.
The head of the Maronite Church has expressed in
particular his hostility to the virulent campaign launched by Hizbollah
and led by its Christian ally, General Michel Aoun, against the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon, which has been tasked with shedding light on the
assassination of Rafik Hariri.
In fact, repeated leaks would suggest
that Hizbollah officials were involved in the attack.
Notwithstanding concerns over the political division
caused by Syrian interference and Hizbollah’s aggressive politics,
backed by the only armed militia left since the end of the civil war
(1975-1990), Patriarch Sfeir’s decision to resign is due to age.
In just
over two months, the head of the Maronite Church, who was born on the
same day as Pope John Paul II, will be 92 years old.
It is normal he
should envisage handing over the patriarchal mantle to a younger man.
A precious service to the Church
The patriarch emeritus was elected on 19 April 1986.
Therefore, he is not very far from celebrating the silver jubilee of his
service.
His long mandate was marked by a close relationship with John
Paul II, who made him cardinal on 26 November 1994, so as “to bring him
into a deeper communion with the Universal Church,” as Benedict XVI said
in his letter.
“John Paul II’s visit to Lebanon in May 1997 to sign
the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation, “A New Hope for Lebanon,” marked
the new close tie of his Church to Peter’s successor.”
Seen in Lebanon as a spiritual blueprint to rebuild
war-damaged Muslim-Christian relations, the Exhortation was followed by
the patriarchal synod of the Maronite Church (the equivalent of a
council).
Faithful to the Maronite Church of Antioch and conscious of
the need for a new evangelisation, the synod gave the Church a chance to
plan the renewal of its structures.
At the same time, it allowed the
Church to engage in some soul-searching into Maronite responsibilities
during the civil war.
In order to emphasise the value of Patriarch Sfeir’s
service, Benedict XVI appointed him vice president ad honorem of the
special Synod for Catholic Churches of the Middle East, which was held
last October.
Last but not least, the patriarch presided over the
ceremony of the installation of the statue of Saint Maron on the
northern façade of Saint Peter’s Basilica at the end of the jubilee year
that marked 1,600 years since the death of the founding saint of the
Maronite Church.
War and peace
“Your noble ministry as Patriarch of Antioch of the
Maronites began in a time of war, which brought bloodshed to Lebanon for
far too much time. It is with a burning desire for peace in your
country that you led the Church and travelled the world to console those
of your people forced to emigrate. At last peace has come, fragile but
always present,” said the Pope in his letter to Cardinal Sfeir.
If we read between the lines, we can see what worries
the Holy See.
As much as he acknowledges that a fragile peace has come
to Lebanon, the Holy Father remains concerned that the transition from
war to peacetime has been accompanied by large-scale emigration of
Christians, not only from Lebanon but also from the entire Middle East.
Similarly, the Holy See would like to see an end as much as possible of
the hostility of segments of the Christian population towards the
Maronite Patriarchate.
These imperatives will guide the advice the
Vatican will offer the electors who will choose the new head of the
Maronite Church.
The next patriarch must be a man of peace who can
bring together everyone. In light of today’s historical circumstances,
he will face an Arab world in turmoil.
Archbishop Edmond Farhat, the apostolic nuncio to
Lebanon, has described such circumstances as a “revolution of the
spirit” and “the expression of a desire for freedom and emancipation, a
thirst for truth and justice, a thirst for transcendence, a thirst for
Jesus Christ.”