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June 26, 2017

At Fatima, cardinal consecrates Lebanon, Middle East to Mary

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, walks near a statue of Our Lady of Fatima June 25. He led a pilgrimage to consecrate Lebanon and all the Middle East to Mary.

FATIMA, Portugal – Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai consecrated Lebanon and all the Middle East to Mary in Fatima, praying for peace and stability.

Published in International
June 19, 2017

Lebanese cardinal praises new law that paves way for elections

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, seen in New York in 2016. Cardinal Rai praised his country's newly ratified electoral law June 17, which establishes proportional representation.

BEIRUT – Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai commended Lebanon's political parties for ratifying a new electoral law.

Published in International
April 18, 2017

At Easter, Middle East church leaders affirm Christian presence

Worshippers pray during Easter Mass April 16 in St. George Chaldean Catholic church in Tel Esqof, Iraq. The church was damaged by Islamic State militants.

BEIRUT – In Easter messages, Catholic patriarchs in the Middle East deplored the widespread carnage and suffering, yet affirmed the presence of Christians in the region by calling upon their faithful to carry on with hope.

Published in International
November 1, 2016

Maronite patriarch hopes election of Lebanese president speeds unity

The Lebanese parliament elected 81-year-old Michel Aoun, pictured in 2015, as president Oct. 31, ending a two-and-a-half-year power vacuum.

BEIRUT – Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, welcomed the election of a new Lebanese president, ending a two-and-a-half-year power vacuum that had crippled the country's government institutions.

Published in International
August 22, 2016

Lebanese cardinal decries terrorism at South Korea peace conference

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn, N.Y., June 26. The patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, speaking in South Korea, urged the international community to end wars in the Middle East.

SEOUL, South Korea – Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, visiting the South Korean capital of Seoul, urged the international community to end the wars raging in the Middle East "fueled by foreign countries."

Published in International
July 1, 2016

Patriarch urges refugee repatriation as long-term solution in Middle East

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, delivers his homily during the Divine Liturgy June 26 at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn, N.Y. Cardinal Rai arrived in the U.S. June 22 to begin a pastoral visit that concludes July 10.

NEW YORK – Poor, destitute refugees now comprise half the people living in Lebanon, according to Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church.

Published in International
December 9, 2015

Maronite patriarch, visiting Syria, urges Christians to hold onto faith

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, greets people after celebrating Mass Dec. 7 at Our Lady of the Annunciation Cathedral in Tartus, Syria. He urged Syrian Christians to hold onto their faith amid the country's conflict, now in its fifth year.

TARTUS, Syria - Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, visiting Syria, urged Christians to hold onto their faith.

Published in International
April 28, 2015

Christian exodus from Mideast weakens moderate Islam: Cardinal Rai

A woman who fled the violence in the Iraqi town of Sinjar sits with a child inside a tent at a camp in Syria's northern town of Qamishli Aug. 17, 2014.

PARIS - The exodus of Christians from the Middle East — due to wars, conflicts, socio-economic crises and persecution — will weaken moderate Islam "which, thanks to the Islamic-Christian conviviality, is so far the vast majority of Muslims in the Middle East," said Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai.

Published in International