The Middle East Council of Churches Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs sent telegrams to both the Iraqi President Dr. Barham Salih and the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nechirvan Barzani, congratulating and thanking them for the exceptional reception of the Pope, the peace-bearer, to Iraq and the region and the preparations made.

The deadly Coronavirus imposed challenges at every level and forced people to turn their lives upside down. However, we can see a glimmer of hope in many situations despite this exacerbating health battle. This microscopic virus didn’t spare anyone as we became aware of the important presence of many around us, those making efforts and sacrifices with patience, hoping they would win the battle.

Report: 15 March 2021

Despite the beginning of vaccination campaigns in the Middle East, health experts warn that the rate at which vaccines are entering each country is too low. Moreover, not all countries have begun such a campaign as they have yet to receive vaccines.

Report: 1 to 15 March 2021

ME nations still struggle to receive their doses of vaccines, while bearing the economic burdens they have dragged over the years. Local political classes continue to relish in their offices, luxury homes and warm palaces, while hungry cries fill the street. This is just another day in an unequal Middle East.

MASS Depression

Months after the explosion, all forms of investigation seem to be restarting from square one, to say the least. Beleaguered with an unstoppable pandemic, a broken economy, and a corrupt political system, Lebanese haven’t ever been so depressed in history.

Syria and Lebanon

Humanitarian Update

Reporting period: from 8 to 15 March 2021

Ignoring his pain, the eighty-five years old Pontiff went to visit a region dear to him, considered the cradle of his faith, uncaring to the obstacles of illness, security, or disunions.

From the height of his standing, the Supreme Pontiff looked at a people killed by divisions and at believers dispersed by wars in all parts of the world, and said to them: Here I am coming in pilgrimage to you, where you are, in order to strengthen and support you in the difficult times you go through.

The small open pickup truck, ladened with large boxes, made its way cautiously down Alexander Fleming street, an offshoot alley from Mar Mikhael road, just a few minutes of walking distance from the Beirut port.

"Hello! Hello!" Norma Irani warmly greeted JCC worker Elias Habib. "And you brought my new gas stove!"

Believing in the important role of teachers in building and raising generations, MECC organized a training course for teachers addressing basic principles of child protection. 30 teachers and directors from different educational centers participated in the training.

According to what journalists who accompanied His Holiness Pope Francis on his trip to Baghdad said before his arrival in Mesopotamia, he had seen reports about women "trafficking" during the control of ISIS on many Iraqi cities, and it affected and pained him.

Pope Francis announced that before he decided to visit Iraq, he had read the book of the young Yazidi woman Nadia Murad in which she talks about her captivity. He later revealed that Nadia's story was one of the reasons he decided to visit Iraq.

7 months after of the Beirut explosion, another person falls victim to the after effects of the event. 57-year-old Ardem, as told by his cousin Sanahine Kassabian, had his house devastated. He lost the pet shop he owned in Gemmayzé located just meters away from the port. This left him “mentally and emotionally broken. He couldn’t eat, sleep nor talk,” explained Kassabian.

MECC Secretary General, Dr. Michel Abs was the guest of a special episode about HH Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq, broadcasted on SAT7 channel. During his online intervention, he described the visit and underlined its symbolism. As well as, he said that it has many positive meanings, symbols, messages and lessons, especially that HH. Pope Francis, suffering from pain, came to Iraq knowing the danger that the Iraqis are facing, and brought a spirit of unity to a divided population.

Syria and Lebanon

Humanitarian Update

Reporting period: from 2 to 8 March 2021

During his intervention on the 7 PM News of “Sawt Beirut International” SBI Channel on Sunday February 7, MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs shed the light on HH Pope Francis’ historic visit to Iraq.

In keeping with the historic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Iraq today, the Middle East Council of Churches appraised His Holiness’s initiative seeking to heal the wounds of the people of the suffering East, especially the people of Iraq. On this occasion, the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs said that the visit of Pope Francis, the Pontiff of human brotherhood, comes at the most critical times in its modern history. This visit is a token of love and healing. It is a call to steadfastness in the face of obscurantism, violence and annihilation.

Beth Nahrein, or Mesopotamia, or Iraq, the Arabic name for Uruk, where the vibrant history of humankind began, as the rest of the Levant, has been drained of blood and people for more than two decades.

This country was Evangelized by Saint Adi, one of the seventy-two apostles, and his disciple Mâry, and the Christian faith that grew up there spread throughout the whole world.

During the last Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches held on Friday 25 February, 2021, President of the Saint Paul Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Harissa - Lebanon Fr. Nicolas Bustros was appointed as Associate General Secretary for the Catholic Family. The Communication and Public Relations Department interviewed him as new member of the General Secretariat’s family in order to get to know him well and to highlight his role and his future expectations in the ecumenical movement.

7 months following the Beirut Port Blast and the Middle East Council of Churches is keen to continue its mission in serving the human dignity by supporting the affected and needy people who are still facing the enormous repercussions of the explosion.

Report: 16 to 28 February 2021

With the arrival of the vaccine to the region, many wonder whether national vaccination plans will succeed. This is specially the case for countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine, where each face a different set of hurdles, related to either financial instability, rampant corruption, or besieging state.