{"id":12550,"date":"2021-09-21T10:43:37","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T14:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/?p=12550"},"modified":"2021-09-21T10:43:38","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T14:43:38","slug":"religious-groups-in-lebanon-fight-to-keep-catholic-schools-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/religious-groups-in-lebanon-fight-to-keep-catholic-schools-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious Groups in Lebanon Fight to Keep Catholic Schools Open"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Lebanon plunges deeper into economic collapse, the future of the country\u2019s Catholic schools is at risk, says Sister Marie-Antoinette Saadeh, general superior of the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we look at it from an accounting point of view, the majority of our schools should be closing because of the situation,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are fighting with all we have in order to keep these schools open.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to her congregation\u2019s commitment to Catholic education in Lebanon, Sister Marie-Antoinette serves as vice president of the Committee of Education in the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon. She is also president of the Female General Superiors Union in Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe as a church, as religious orders and as institutions, have tried, and we basically have used up all our resources to survive. Financially, we cannot continue unless we get some help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sister
Sister Marie-Antoinette Saadeh is general superior of the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family and vice president of the Committee of Education in the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon. (photo: Raghida Skaff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lebanese parents typically go to great lengths to put their children in Catholic school because they know their children will receive an excellent education. However, the Lebanese currency has plummeted by more than 90 percent in two years, salaries have dwindled to barely a tenth of their previous dollar values and, for many families, money for tuition payments just isn\u2019t there. According to the United Nations, 78 percent of Lebanese now live below the poverty line, up from less than 30 percent before 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we need to save anything in Lebanon, it has to be the Catholic institutions \u2014 the schools, the hospitals and the social centers \u2014 to keep Lebanon as a place of dialogue, a beacon of light in the Middle East,\u201d said Sister Marie-Antoinette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanon\u2019s Catholic schools have a longstanding tradition of educating all Lebanese, regardless of religion, politics and social backgrounds, and of teaching people how \u201cto live together and how to grow together and respect each other,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an alumna of Catholic education in Lebanon, Sister Marie-Antoinette experienced this model first hand. Furthermore, she said, she first discerned her religious vocation as a teenage student at Our Lady of Lebanon School in the Achrafieh section of Beirut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe sisters really inspired me,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to be just like them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
Holy Family School in Alma El Shaab, Lebanon, enrolls about 250 students. Many Catholic schools in Lebanon are facing possible closure due to the country’s economic collapse. (photo: Michel Fakoury, courtesy EOL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But now, years later, she sees how the situation of Catholic schools in Lebanon is dire and how the effects could be disastrous for the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Lebanon\u2019s educational institutions crash, this will definitely bring down with it the identity of Lebanon,\u201d she explained, and Lebanese \u201csociety will collapse.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without outside funding, she added, \u201cwe are going to have to close down many of our schools, even though we are doing everything we can to avoid this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have faith God will provide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn what you can do to help, visit CNEWA’s Lebanon page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Doreen Abi Raad\u2019s feature article, Catholic Education: Lifeblood of a Nation<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Doreen Abi Raad is a freelance writer in Beirut. She also writes for Catholic News Service and the National Catholic Register.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Lebanon plunges deeper into economic collapse, the future of the country\u2019s Catholic schools is at risk, says Sister Marie-Antoinette Saadeh, general superior of the Congregation of the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family. \u201cIf we look at it from an accounting point of view, the majority of our schools should be closing because of … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":12551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,2315,69],"class_list":["post-12550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","category-lebanon","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReligious Groups in Lebanon Fight to Keep Catholic Schools Open | CNEWA Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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