During a visit to North Lebanon College-Zgharta on the occasion of St. Antonius Feast Day, Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Frangieh stressed that the Maronite Church is here to stay and that Zgharta and its region are in the core of the church while he declared that even if "the Maronite Church does not support our party's political purpose, we would remain under its patronage."

He also said that even if he does not agree with the politics of the church, his faith in it would remain unwavering.

He called on the Maronite Church to "enhance the conditions of the Christians so Christian Lebanese expatriates would return home and not feel threatened anymore."

"We should work together to restore Christian confidence and belief in their land and nation because this would remove the feeling of being persecuted and help encourage expatriates to return to their homeland," Frangieh added.

The Marada leader was accompanied on his visit by State Minister Youssef Saadeh, MP Estephane Douaihy, Zgharta Mayor Joseph Marawi, Marada official Chadi Saad, Fr Estephane Frangieh and a number of community members.

Fr Superior General of the Maronite Order, Elias Khalifeh and Fr Bakhous Tanous, head of the college, welcomed MP Sleiman Frangieh and hailed the policies of the late President Sleiman Frangieh and his successor MP Sleiman Frangieh.

The Marada leader said that the most important thing is for Christian institutions and individuals to restore the fact that "Lebanon is our nation and we possess the right and the major contribution in its establishment and therefore we must not feel threatened at all but rather commit to building a much better future."

"We must not surrender to fears while we ought to work to boost Christian morals and steadfastness," Frangieh concluded.

17/1/2010