The Christians Since Sfeir Became the Patriarch

[LiNk]

Originally Posted by Muwatin Libnani

If one side, the majority, is pulling it in the wrong direction, wouldn't the opposition's pull in the opposite direction become not just a fact but a national duty?

Hi Muwatin,

On which criterion do you base your judgment? What made you perceive one of those directions as wrong?

And if so, does it make the alternative, as one that is fair and just?


Thanks.

[Dark Angel]

i would make an excellent batrak, look:

تمنى الدارك انجل من البطريرك صفير أن يعي خطورة المرحلة وأن يكون على قدر المسؤلية الملقاة على عاتقه راجياً من الله أن ينير عقله ويلهم قلبه بما فيه خير الجميع ونحن قد قلنا ما قلناه ومن كان عاقلاً فسيفهم، ومن لا يريد أن يفهم فهذا خياره ونحن لا نستطيع اجبار أحد على شيء.

[elias-aj]

I think that we're making our Batrak a big favor he doesn't deserve when we speak about him.

The best thing we can do is to keep calling him Batrak and / or His eminence, keep politely smiling at him and never take into consideration what he can say on political issues. Let's not even bring up our political differences.

Speaking about him is hurting us rather than helping us, though I tend to agree with Needfortruth.

By the way, we shall remember that Jesus Christ said about the priests "do what they teach you, not what they do". Because they're humans like us. So let's avoid any confusion between the maronite church (us, I mean all the maronites) and the priests, including our Batrak.

[SamerTayyar]

Originally Posted by Abotareq93

Convert to what? Clergy are similar in all sects, look at Aoudeh or Hazim, they are as bad as Sfeir if not worse. This class cares about money, power, fame and human glory more than the interest of their parish; they are all made of the same fabric.

Sfeir is still more influential than the others.. somehow he gets more attention
than all the other clergy combined.. I agree with the rest of your post, but the
only way to limit his influence is to boycott the church, and reduce the number
of the followers. The catholic one seems to be descent...

[Abotareq93]

Originally Posted by SamerTayyar

Sfeir is still more influential than the others.. somehow he gets more attention
than all the other clergy combined.. I agree with the rest of your post, but the
only way to limit his influence is to boycott the church, and reduce the number
of the followers. The catholic one seems to be descent...

We need someone who says a word of truth when needed; the Catholic Clergy by being "la bi hish wala bi nish" is doing the same harm others are doing if not more.

[elias-aj]

Originally Posted by SamerTayyar

Sfeir is still more influential than the others.. somehow he gets more attention
than all the other clergy combined.. I agree with the rest of your post, but the
only way to limit his influence is to boycott the church, and reduce the number
of the followers. The catholic one seems to be descent...

You can't renounce to your culture and your religion just because of Batrak Sfeir. The maronite institution, its history and its importance can not be reduced to Batrak Sfeir.

The best way to limit his influence was to see the maronites voting en masse for FPM. Well, only a little more than half of the maronites voted for FPM. We have to work to increase our popular support among them (well, like we have to do for all the lebanese in fact...).

In fact, the problem with Batrak Sfeir is that he forgot the importance of its position towards its own community and towards the other communities (muslims and christians) in the whole middle-east. Anyway, it's a problem among thousands of others that we have to deal with.

[LiNk]

إثنان أهل الأرض ، ذو عقل بلا دين، واخر دين لا عقل له



أبو العلاء المعرى

[kmarthe]

Originally Posted by Abotareq93

We need someone who says a word of truth when needed; the Catholic Clergy by being "la bi hish wala bi nish" is doing the same harm others are doing if not more.

That's what we hope for, after all FPM's program is a state where religious figures do no politics. Ba3dein never expect a religious leader to support a strong politician (at least in the Christian arena) because the clergy wants always to have the upper hand, baddoun ykounou zou3ama. It has been so for many years in Lebanon since the independence and it will always be so. Therefore, better have a Catholic style church and let the politicians do the politics as in any Western country.

[elador]

Originally Posted by kmarthe

Actually this is a great idea, we can start a big conversion movement to force Sfeir to resign and his successor to be more reasonable !! I suggest we convert to the Melkite Catholic Church for the following reasons:

1- Patriarch Laham is a respectable guy, he never interfered in politics and never took sides, nor he caused troubles for his community. Also past Ctaholic Patriarchs were never that influent in political life.

2- It won't be such a big transition because Catholics are closer to Maronites than Orthodox. Heyk we remain under the Vatican umbrella.

3- We won't follow Patriarch Hazim who lives in Damascus and may one day be influenced by the Syrian regime. Nor we have to follow Bishop Aoudeh and vote for nayla for the next 50 years

4- After the conversion, we do na2el noufouss to Zahle to balance the demographic change Hariris we doing for the past decade and claim back the capital of the Catholicism, ye3neh 2 pour 1

Yalla guys let us start working on this seriously and keep the Troy horse of Bkerke sitting alone in his palace

great idea!! catholics will be majority and i might become president!!

[Armenian]

Originally Posted by SamerTayyar

and do you think Bchara el Ra3i would be better than his predecessor? prepare yourselves
for another 25-30 years of a new corrupt clergy generation. The only way to punish them
is to convert and personally I have put serious thinking into it...

Armenian Orthodox should be your first choice

Thank you!!