The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Presents a Lecture at USJ in Beirut:

There should be a connection between science and religion in order to guarantee both protection, so people’s religion may face people's tyrant and hence serve other people

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs delivered a lecture entitled “Religion and Power: Relations and Challenges”, on Wednesday 25 January 2023, at the Humanities Campus at the Saint Joseph University (USJ) in Beirut. This lecture was part of a series of seminars organized by the Department of Religious Sciences at the Faculty of Religious Sciences at USJ, under the title of “The Relation Between Power and Religion”.

Attendees were the Rector of the Faculty of Religious Sciences at USJ Father Salah Abou Jaoudeh, the Director of the Higher Institute of Religious Studies at the University, Sister Yara Matta, the Director of the Department of Religious Sciences at the Faculty Dr. Marguerite Asmar Bou Aoun. As well as, participants were professors and students from the Saint Joseph University and the Lebanese University.

The Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches Dr. Michel Abs visited His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, at the Catholicosate in Antelias, Lebanon. Dr. Abs was accompanied by an MECC delegation which included the MECC Associate Secretary general Mrs. Seta Hadeshian, and member of the MECC’s Executive Committee Dr. Jean Salmanian.

The meeting aimed to discuss with His Holiness some issues related to MECC.

In the new issue of the weekly newsletter Momentum issued by the Communication and Public Relations Department of the Middle East Council of Churches, you can find details about the round table organized by MECC, as part of its monthly seminars, under the title “The Prisoner and Human Dignity”, on Thursday 26 January 2023, at the MECC Headquarters in Beirut. As for the weekly message of the MECC Secretary General Dr. Abs, it is entitled “Between punishment and Reform... Dignity”, and it was the speech which he delivered at the beginning of the round table.

For every crime, there is a punishment!

This is how we have been taught, and this is how laws are enacted and implemented, and this is how justice systems operate in the world.

People understand punishment as a punishment of a criminal act, a retaliation of each criminal according to his crime, and those affected by the crime declare that they have been psychologically relieved after the verdict or implementation of the punishment.

Moreover, in some cases, the affected people find that the verdict is not commensurate with the crime, and thus they express the depth of the damage or pain they have suffered, adding to that their disappointment with the judicial decision.

On the other hand, the perpetrator or his family find that the punishment was severe and harsh, and they give the perpetrator mitigating reasons to justify his criminal actions.

A Round Table Organized by MECC

Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs: If prison is not a place where the perpetrator regains his self-confidence and lost dignity because of what he had committed, then what a miserable place it is!

Amidst the exacerbated economic, social and political crises... in the region and the world, the human dignity is at risk, especially among the most vulnerable people. In light of the painful circumstances, the prisoner’s issue in the countries of the region seems to be forgotten or as if it is a side issue due to other humanitarian problems that may be considered as priorities for governments. But what are the prisoner's challenges today? How can we describe their psychological situation? What are the views of the law, society and religion towards the prisoner's issue?

Answers were highlighted during a round table held by the Middle East Council of Churches under the title "The Prisoner and Human Dignity", on Thursday 26 January 2023, as part of its series of monthly seminars. Participants were guests and experts who attended at the headquarters of the MECC’s General Secretariat in Beirut, or online via Zoom.

The seminar was broadcasted live on the MECC Facebook page and started with a speech delivered by the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs.

The Communication and Public Relations Department at the Middle East Council of Churches have now issued its online Ecumenical calendar for the month of February 2023. It includes the Ecclesiastical and Liturgical feasts of the various families of Churches in the Middle East. In addition to international days identified by the United Nations, and which are related to the MECC identity and its spiritual and human mission.

A New Sewing Training Course Has Started

Despite the activities and lectures that raise the voice in order to protect women's rights and dignity, women are still facing marginalization, injustice and exploitation in many societies around the world. Hence, many initiatives are seeking to empower and support them, especially that they are an essential part of the societies and have an important role in its development.

As part of its work in preserving human values, the Middle East Council of Churches has been implementing special programs for women in order to support them and develop their skills. With the beginning of 2023, the MECC’s office in Jordan launched, on January 23, a new sewing training course, with the participation of 20 Jordanian, Iraqi and Syrian women from the most vulnerable groups.

An Ecumenical Prayer Service in Bkerke at the Invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon

The MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Participates in the Celebration

The “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” 2023 comes to an end. In fact, it is an annual Ecumenical occasion full of hope towards an eagerly awaited unity. It invites us to continue praying and meeting together all year long. For the occasion, an Ecumenical prayer service was held at the invitation of the Episcopal Committee for Ecumenical Relations for the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, on Sunday 22 January 2023. It was hosted by the Maronite Church at the Patriarchal Edifice in Bkerke, Lebanon, under the patronage and presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East.

A delegation from the “Center for the Christians of the Orient”, including Dr. Boutros Labaki, Dr. Mounir Sader, General Charbel Abou Zeid and Mr. Wassim Abou Rjeily, visited the headquarters of the Middle East Council of Churches in Beirut, on Monday 23 January 2023. They met with the MECC Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs, and discussed with him their activities, their presence in various countries of the Middle East, and the possibility of implementing joint projects in the future.