By Salvatore Cernuzio and Kielce Gussie
More than half of people aged 18-29 have expressed a desire to leave Lebanon following the economic crisis and tension between Israel and Hezbollah. Over the last few years, more than 562,000 people have left Lebanon and crossed into Syria as a result of the ongoing situation.
Yet, the creation of a new project is changing the atmosphere for young people, especially Christians. The Leadership Academy for Peace, supported by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development, works with Catholic young people under 35 in the Middle East.
Groups of young people are getting more and more involved in politics with the goal of transforming it “from a place of corruption” into a platform for promoting the values of Catholic Social Teaching. Cardinal Michael Czerny, who is on mission in Beirut from Feb 19-23, met with some of these young people. In an interview with Vatican News, the Syriac Catholic bishop of the Patriarchate of Antioch Jules Boutros describes the work of the project.
Three levels of change
Bishop Boutros explains the Leadership Academy for Peace all began with the question: “in Lebanon, given what is happening, how can we react?” Looking at how to better not only Lebanon but the entire Middle East, the Academy was founded “to pass on the teachings of the Church on three levels”: three Catholic schools near Beirut, followed by working with teachers, and thirdly, is the Academy itself.
Politics serve the common good
The violence in Lebanon sparked a shift in the way young people approached politics. Rather than simply a place for business and personal interest, they see in it “a sacred vocation, something they had never thought of before.” For them, as Bishop Boutros describes, politics means serving the common good and “becoming builders of peace, justice, and fraternity.”
But this work requires moving beyond church buildings and parish centers. It means going out into the world and taking action. The Syriac Catholic bishop challenges the Church to not only announce God’s work but also to work for justice. “Working for charity is easy; working for justice is much harder,” he stresses. It takes much more involvement to work for justice, avoid corruption, and “instead bring light to the shadows.”
The work of the Academy
This is where the Leadership Academy for Peace steps in and “gives a voice to the Church,” who has a responsibility in the political world. Bishop Boutros argues the Church must have a presence in government and on social media in order to address problems of abuse, violence, and power. In the Academy, students study and develop “a very practical social and political teaching” and they uncover Catholic Social Teaching, so that they can share it with others.
Divided into small groups, young people work on different humanitarian causes: abandoned people, refugees, and the defense of human rights. They even take on cases like the explosion at the Port of Beirut in 2020, which killed hundreds of people and destroyed thousands of homes. The Syriac Catholic bishop poses the question: “In the face of such a tragedy, who should carry forward the cause if not us?”
He warns that if the Academy members do nothing, then these events and people will simply fade into history. More than learning in classrooms, the Academy takes action and creates networks of friendship from the north to the south.
As Bishop Boutros explains, “We believe that such friendships will bring about a greater good in the future. Alone, we are poor and weak, we can do little.” But united together in the Academy, change for a better future in Lebanon and the world can be possible. – Vatican News
