Synod of Synodality: Lebanese Bishop makes a passionate call for peace

A Lebanese bishop made an impassioned call for peace and forgiveness during the Synodality Synod’s daily press conference, as the first week of the assembly draws to a close.

This October 5, the Bishop of Batroun, Mounir Khairallah, shared his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, telling how his parents were murdered when he was just five years old.

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

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

Bishop Khairallah insisted that the majority of people want peace. He called for an end to cycles of retaliation: “Enough with this revenge, with this hatred, with this war. Enough. Let’s 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. On Saturday, participants issued “an urgent call for peace on behalf of the synod,” along with a call to “all religions to condemn fundamentalism with one voice.”

Interaction with study groups

At the press conference, Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, provided an update on the synod’s proceedings.

He reported that Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod, had proposed interaction between the participants 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, October 18, coordinators and other group members will meet with assembly members who wish to speak with them about their group’s topic.”

Ruffini also noted that the language groups had completed their work on the first module of the Instrument of Laborpresenting documents that contain proposals that they consider essential to draft the final document.

The Synod of Synodality will begin its second week of debates on Monday, October 7, the day on which Pope Francis has called for a day of prayer and fasting for peace. This date coincides with the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, as violence continues to increase throughout the region.

This news was translated by the ACI Prensa team. It was originally published in CNA.