Lebanese turn to faith to break political stalemate
The statue of Portugal's Our Lady Fatima will visit several regions in Lebanon in a convoy of Christian leaders, many of whom believe that the tour will help Lebanon elect a president.
FATIMA, Portugal — Christians in Lebanon seem to have lost hope in politics and politicians and decided to resort to religion for solace, as the Catholic churches in Lebanon have taken steps to consecrate their country to the "immaculate heart of Our Lady Fatima."
The statue will be brought all the way from Portugal to roam the regions of Lebanon and visit four Catholic patriarchates amid various political and religious expectations.
Al-Monitor accompanied the church convoy, which traveled from Beirut to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, on June 10 to receive the statue and take it to Beirut for a five-day tour in the country, June 12-16. The convoy consisted of Syriac Catholic Bishop Antoine Beylouni as head and the secretary-general of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in the East, Father Khalil Alwan, as well as other clerics and officials.
The convoy members asserted to Al-Monitor the national character of this step, noting that the Lebanese government decided in February 2010 to declare the Annunciation an official holiday for Christians and Muslims alike, as an entire surah and several verses of the Quran are dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
