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We are at the height of the 23rd International Mariological Congress, organized by the Pontifical Mariana Internationalis Academy, under way since Tuesday at the Pontifical Antonianum University of Rome.Opened by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes and president of the congress, the meeting will continue Saturday with a papal audience at Castel Gandolfo. It concludes Sunday with the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
ZENIT spoke with one participant, Father Maroun Chidiac of the Maronite Marianate Order, secretary of the Middle Eastern Mariological Society in Lebanon, who in this interview describes for us the devotion to the Virgin in his country and the great anticipation of the Pope’s visit next week.
ZENIT: Father Chidiac, how is Marian devotion lived in Lebanon?
Father Chidiac: As in all the countries of the Middle East, Lebanon’s Christians have a very intense sensitivity when it comes to the Mother of God, in the rites, in the traditions and in popular religiosity. At times the figure of Mary is absolutized, but in general devotion to her, rooted especially in the liturgy, it is lived in a very simple and spontaneous way.In particular, I would like to stress the interpersonal character of Marian devotion in Lebanon, in the sense that every member of the faithful of the Eastern Churches feels that he is a child of Mary and perceives an indissoluble bond with her who is the Mother of God and our Mother.
ZENIT: We've seen the future prospects of Mariology during the congress. In Lebanon, more specifically, what direction will it take?
Father Chidiac: The way to follow for Mariology in Lebanon is still very long and there is so much work to be done. First of all, it is necessary to reread Vatican II and then to reintegrate all its affirmations in the education and formation of priests, and in theology, object of study of seminarians and the laity.Then, from the pastoral point of view, I think a Mariological ministry is necessary that is very faithful to the teaching of the Church and that transmits a “Mariological clarity” in devotion, which must not be too exaggerated.The whole of it so that Mary will really become a theological “place,” as confirmed in the Congress; namely, that she be the companion of the Christian people toward the Lord, through genuine faith.
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