Bishops asked to pray for Christianity in war-torn Middle East

Pope calls for united Lebanon
POPE JOHN PAUL II has asked the Lebanese people to resume peace talks aimed at establishing a united, democratic Lebanon. He has also asked the world's bishops to support peace efforts in Lebanon and to pray for a continued survival of Christianity in the Middle East nation.
The papal appeals came in two separate messages, dated May 1 but released on May 5 at the Vatican while the Pope was visiting South Korea.
The documents were issued after Pope John Paul had met with four Catholic patriarchs with jurisdiction in Lebanon.
In a message to Christians and Moslems in Lebanon he called for a return to the nation's basic democratic values and for a willingness by all warring political and religious factions to resume a dialogue toward peace.
"Everyone must be ready to make an examination of conscience, to give up something, to take up dialogue again so that the values shared by everyone may prevail," he said.
"Freedom, understanding, hospitality and an openness of spirit were the values on which the Lebanon of yesterday was founded. They are the basis of the Lebanon of tomorrow."
The Pope warned that "arrogance, the thirst for power, fanaticism and defeatism" in Lebanon were "deadly germs."
"Not only can they weaken the national spirit, but they can lead your nation to a total disintegration," he said. All nations that love peace and freedom should help Lebanon return to being a country where diverse political and religious factions can live in peace, he added.
Despite the country's history of "defeats, hatreds, wars and even massacres," it is not too late to overcome the current climate of doubt and suspicion, he said.
Lebanon's three million population is about evenly divided between Christians and Moslems, with many Moslemled political factions complaining that Christians have a disproportionate number of top military and government posts. The disputes have often resulted in heavy fighting during the past 10 years.
The 1,200-word message, written in French, sounded many of the themes Pope John Paul has stressed in previous public statements: the need for dialogue among the warring factions, national unity as a conerstone of any peace settlement and concern for Lebanon's Christian population.
The Pope also referred to "outside pressures" and "external factors" that he said have helped disfigure Lebanon. But he did not name Syria, which occupies parts of northern and eastern Lebanon, nor Israel, which occupies southern Lebanon.
Fr Pierfranco Pastore, a Vatican press spokesman, described the message as "a pressing appeal to all ethnic and religious components of the country".