In Lebanon, we always tend to exaggerate matters, and theories and rumors abound, and all the schemes that come to mind are immediately made public. The Lebanese forget or forget that by doing this, they affirm that they are riding every wave that passes in front of them, even if this wave is far from the shore of logic and reality. In this context, the media and social media were abuzz with data that was said to have been the focus of the talks between the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun and Pope Francis, and were identified as dealing with two parts: the first is the need to “restrain” Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi on the one hand, and the second is to push the throne Apostolic to “soften” the positions of Hezbollah. And if we paused for a few moments in front of this news and sifted the thoughts around it, we would find that it contains many contradictions and belittling, and that its goal is only to drown in the fever of elections and campaigns directed once morest competitors.
In principle, hardly a day passes without it being stressed that Aoun has become weak and is not recognized by the world, and he remains only in terms of form, and dealing with him is done out of respect for his position, so how can he, in view of this weakness, impose on the Pope what he wants, especially in a sensitive issue Concerning the Church, similar to the Vatican’s dealings with the Maronite Patriarch? Then it is a great disregard for the position and value of His Holiness, who is being portrayed as not following the situation in Lebanon, and has not sent any high-ranking Vatican delegate to him to see the reality of the situation there, and he does not open a wide network of contacts with a number of leaders of countries and officials in the world to find out what he needs. He did not repeatedly administer the affairs of his subjects in Lebanon, especially with regard to the Maronite Patriarchate, religious orders, and others… By what right can we say that Aoun or someone else is capable of imposing his opinion and asking the Pope to “neutralize” the shepherd? In addition, did Aoun contact the Patriarch on the eve of his departure for Rome while the shepherd was in Egypt, and discussed with him the topics of his upcoming visit? Did he also ask him to disregard the issue of neutralizing him that he would raise in the Vatican? The Vatican may take a specific decision on the issue of the Maronite Patriarch, positive or negative, but it is certain that it will not be due to the intervention of Aoun or others, but according to the data that Pope Francis may have formed through his follow-ups, contacts and delegates, similar to what has been happening in ecclesiastical affairs for decades. very long.
As for saying that Aoun “mediated” Hezbollah with the Pope, it is also an exaggeration, because Aoun is originally unable to play the role of mediator between the party and the Vatican, otherwise he would have played this role in Lebanon first, in addition to the fact that there is no problem in the original between the Holy See and the party, and he realizes The Pope is well that the issue of the party is not local or regional, but has become international, and it is raised on the level of the big map of the world. Thus, strengthening the party’s influence in Lebanon or not, are matters that the Pope may discuss and be informed of by other people, and the decision he takes in this regard will come following studying the issue in all its aspects and not according to the opinion of one here or another from there.
It is the height of underestimation of minds and people, similar to news and rumors that are released periodically and take their way to people who accept them without the trouble of thinking regarding them or examining their content and how close they are to reality. It is true that the election fever rises as we get closer to the date of this due date, but we should not reach political delirium, despite the fact that the campaigns have reached the bottom of the absurd language that is completely far from the electoral programs and rules followed in all countries of the world in terms of the candidate’s promotion of himself from the angle of his project On the basis of which he will act if he wins… However, in Lebanon there is no place for all these rules.
