The President of Lebanon General Joseph Aoun to the Middle East Council of Churches:
Your mission is to strengthen the Christian presence in the East so that it may be active, influential, and steadfast in serving the cause of humanity, its present, and future
President Joseph Aoun affirmed that the visit of Holy Father Leo XIV was not only for the Church of Lebanon or for the Lebanese, but for all the Christians of the East who are the sons and daughters of this land in which they are embodied. He called on the delegation of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), which he received on the morning of Thursday 11 December 2025, at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, to work to ensure that the Christian presence in the East is active, influential and steadfast in serving the cause of humanity, its present and future.