Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has denied there is a danger to the Christian presence in the country, but the faithful there continue to face violence, displacement, and pressure to leave. Source: National Catholic Register.
On October 28, Mr Aoun told a delegation of French lawmakers who belong to a study group on Eastern Christians that “there is no danger to the Christian presence in Lebanon”.
He pointed to the country’s tradition of Christian-Muslim coexistence and argued that what had happened in neighbouring countries could not happen in Lebanon.
Mr Aoun’s remarks come amid concerns about the security and future of Lebanon’s Christian communities, as families face violence, displacement, and pressure to emigrate.
Lebanon’s political system formally recognises the partnership between its Christian and Muslim communities. Under its long-standing power-sharing arrangement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of Parliament a Shiite Muslim.
Parliamentary seats are divided equally between Christians and Muslims. Christian participation is therefore part of the country’s founding political understanding.
Mr Aoun’s assurance is weighed against the experiences of Christian communities across the country.
On October 29, Maronite Fr Samir Daou was found murdered by a Syrian worker. Months earlier, Fr Pierre al-Rahi was killed by Israeli shelling. In February 2025, Armenian Apostolic Archimandrite Anania Kojanian was killed at his home.
In past years, the killings of Pascal Sleiman and Elias Hasrouni, both associated with the Lebanese Forces, a Christian political party opposed to Hezbollah, have also deepened fears.
In the south, the danger also takes the form of uprooting entire communities. Christian villages near the Israeli border have been caught in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite political and armed movement designated by the United States as a terrorist organisation.
In Qawzah, Fr Antonios Hanna told EWTN News that residents had been displaced as their village became a battleground. Homes and the parish church have sustained damage.
Christians who have stayed in Rmeish, Ain Ebel, and Debel, three villages near Lebanon’s border with Israel known as the “delta of resilience” face a different ordeal.
Residents are cut off from jobs, universities, and hospitals, and are dependent on coordinated convoys to leave or return to their home. Despite their attachment to their land, insecurity makes staying difficult, while displaced families need safety and reconstruction to return.
FULL STORY
Lebanon’s President Reassures Christians As They Remain Under Pressure (By Romy Haber, National Catholic Register)
