Spiritual Summit on March 25 to Discuss Syrian Crisis Repercussions on Lebanon, Coexistence

A spiritual Christian-Islamic summit will be held at Bkirki on March 25 in the presence of the head of the Sunni, Shiite, Maronite and Druze spiritual leaders, along with the members of the Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue, the Central News Agency reported on Saturday.

“The past few days witnessed intensified contacts to stress the importance of holding a spiritual summit on March 25, which was agreed upon during the last summit at Dar al-Fatwa (in September),” sources from the Christian-Islamic Committee for Dialogue told the news agency.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi held a meeting on Saturday with the members of the Christian-Islamic Committee for Dialogue, seeking the possibility of holding a spiritual summit on March 25, according to the news agency.

The sources noted that the summit would be an opportunity for the spiritual leaders to prepare for Pope Benedict XVI expected visit on September 14-16

Benedict will bring a message of "peace in the Middle East," where violence has raged in Lebanon's neighbor Syria for a year.

The Bkirki spiritual summit will also discuss safeguarding Lebanon from the negative repercussions of the Syrian crisis, according to the sources.

“The spiritual leaders will hold onto the unique Lebanese community coexistence, that should be a model for the countries in the region,” they said.

The summit will also stress the importance of dialogue to resolve disputes, and the reinforcement of democracy.

The source noted that the spiritual leaders will not tackle the “narrow political” details.