(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Most of Lebanon’s people are considering emigration, and 35% are reportedly waiting for travel visas, the Patriarch of the Melkite Catholic Church reported as he opened a Synod of Melkite bishops in Beirut.
Patriarch Gregory III Laham said that 60% of all Lebanon’s population is weighing a move out of the country, and Christians account for most of the potential emigrants.
Noting that Christians face even more difficult situations in neighboring countries, he asked: “If this is the case for Lebanon, what will happen in countries with less stability?”
The Melkite Patriarch stressed the urgency of finding ways to bring stability and security to the Middle East, enabling Christians to remain there.
“It is necessary to operate in every way possible to try to stop this bleeding,” he said.
The annual assembly of the Synod of the Maronite Church also met in Lebanon on June 18 — at the same time of the Melkite gathering.
The four-day gathering of Maronite bishops urged political powers to overcome their disputes to “keep the Lebanese population here.”
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai later held a mass to mark the end of the Synod. He said political foes should resolve their differences, urging them to “assume their historic responsibilities and for MPs to elect a president.”
“We must sit together, hold frank talks, and reach a reconciliation,” he said, according to the daily newspaper, An-Nahar.