Lebanese bishop makes impassioned plea for peace at synod briefing

The Maronite Catholic Eparch of Batroun, Bishop Mounir Khairallah, attends the press conference on Oct. 5, 2024 at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez

CNA Newsroom, Oct 5, 2024 / 10:35 am (CNA).

A Lebanese bishop made an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness at the Synod on Synodality’s daily press briefing on Saturday, as the assembly’s first week drew to a close.

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batroun shared his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, recounting how his parents were murdered when he was just five years old.

“A Lebanese Maronite nun came to our house, took us four children to her monastery, and in church invited us to kneel and pray,” Bishop Khairallah recalled. “She said, ‘Let us pray not so much for your parents, but rather for those who killed them, and seek to forgive.’”

The prelate emphasized that despite ongoing conflicts, the Lebanese people consistently reject hatred and vengeance. “We Lebanese have always condemned hatred, vengeance, violence. We want to build peace. We are capable of doing it,” he said.

Bishop Khairallah insisted that the majority of people desire peace. He called for an end to cycles of retaliation: “Enough with this vengeance, with this hatred, with this war. Enough. Let us build peace at least for the children, for future generations who have the right to live in peace.”

The bishop’s plea resonated with the broader sentiments expressed during the synod. Participants on Saturday issued “an urgent appeal for peace in the name of the synod,” coupled with a call for “all religions to condemn fundamentalism with one voice.”

Interaction with study groups

Earlier in the press briefing, Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, provided an update on the synod’s proceedings.

Ruffini reported that Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the synod, had proposed interaction between synod members and the study groups established by Pope Francis.

“This proposal was put to a vote and approved by a show of hands,” Ruffini said. “On Friday, Oct. 18, the coordinators and other members of the groups will meet with assembly members who wish to speak with them on the subject of their group.”

Ruffini also noted that the language groups had completed their work on the first module of the Instrumentum Laboris, submitting documents containing propositions they consider fundamental for drafting the final document.

The Synod on Synodality will start its second week of discussions on Monday, Oct. 7, the day Pope Francis has called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel as violence continues to escalate throughout the region.