There’s a lovely piece in Thursday’s Daily Star (Beirut) by Adnan El-Ghoul, titled John Paul II’s legacy to Lebanon. I’m pretty certain Ghoul is a Sunni Muslim, which makes the piece all the more meaningful.
In it, he recalls the visit the Pope made to Lebanon in 1997:
- When the pope came to Lebanon the political and religious situation at the time posed distinct challenges in the wake of Lebanon’s bloody 15 year civil war. Among them, the status of the Lebanese government, largely dominated by Syria and set in place by the Taif Accord in 1989. He was also faced with the task of convincing extremists of both Christian and Muslim faiths to embark on a permanent dialogue with one another and to persuade young Christians not leave their homeland at a time when they were exiting in large numbers.
… Eight years later, the number of Syrian troops has dropped from 40,000 to less than 8,000 and they are scheduled to leave by the end of this month. Israel pulled its troops out of South Lebanon and western Bekaa Valley in May 2000; at least according to the United Nations.
… So what difference did the pontiff’s trip make to Lebanon? Did we have a Poland moment, where his visit glavanised his fellow countrymen to throw off the shackes of communism?
We didn’t have the drama of a Polish moment, but in my view the papal visit did make a difference to this country. I would assert he actually helped establish a new political climate that paved the way for the current political uprising. He came here and said openly that Lebanon and the Lebanese needed to embrace change.
…[S]ince the papal visit many realities changed in accordance with the pope’s wishes and guidance. He called for greater dialogue between this country’s myriad of religions. In his document “A New Hope for Lebanon,” he outlined the need for coexistance and for all Lebanese to look toward Lebanon for their future, calling all Lebanese to “open with confidence a new page in their history.”
In this respect the visit laid the foundation for dialogue that helped trans-sectarian alliances and cooperation in this country which in turn has reaped rewards for Lebanon’s political opposition. His plea for reconciliation was most plainly seen in the visit by Sfeir to the Chouf Mountains to meet with Walid Jumblatt for the first time since the civil war. That visit can arguably seen as the first seeds in the flowering of the broad based united Lebanese opposition that the country currently has.
Ghoul also recalled fondly the Pope’s 2001 visit to Damascus when:
- Tens of thousands of Muslims and Christians attended the Mass celebrated by the pope in Damascus soccer stadium.
The pope told the stadium crowd, speaking in French, “In this holy land, Christians, Muslims and Jews are called to work together with confidence and boldness and to work to bring about without delay the day when the legal rights of all peoples are respected and they can live in peace and mutual understanding.”
Following in the steps of St. Paul, the pope’s visit to Syria took him to a landscape rich in Christian history. Syria’s 17 million people include two million Christians, and the pope’s presence there highlighted the rich mix of cultures and history of Syria.
Pope John Paul traveled in what he called the Millennium Journey as a pilgrim to the Umayyad Mosque. He was the first pope to enter a mosque, stepping into a historic shrine alongside Muslim leaders.
By visiting Umayyad Mosque, in the heart of the Old City of Damascus, the pope made a point on how Christianity and the preceding Roman Empire, were deeply rooted in the Middle East.
The Umayyad Mosque has been a place of worship for more than 3,000 years…
And finally, this:
- Back in Beirut, the images of his 1997 visit which have been reshown on television following his death are a reminder that Beirut had not witnessed million-people marches since that time until the current crisis this year.
One million people of all sects and religious beliefs attended the Sunday Mass the pope celebrated in Downtown Beirut close to Martyrs’ Square. I was one of them. Less than eight years later one million people of all sects again filled Martyrs’ Square to show their support to a united political opposition calling for Syrian withdrawal and political freedom.
What is John Paul’s final legacy to Lebanon? I think we are seeing it: dialogue, tolerance, political freedom. As I write we seem to be on the verge of a return to sectarian rigidity and political bickering which looks set to threaten the principles outlined by the pope when he visited our small country.
The “Apostolic Guidance,” which was published after his trip here would come in handy as a blueprint for containing the current political crisis before it develops into a communal conflict. It is worth reading now more than ever.
Blessed indeed be the peacemakers.