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International Maronite Congress Date Announced
The International Maronite Foundation is happy to announce that it will host an International Maronite Congress under the auspices of His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and all the East. The Congress will be held June 20-23, 2002 in the Los Angeles, California USA area.
The decision was made at the Board of Trustees meeting of the International Maronite Foundation of 5 May 2001 after having received the blessings of Patriarch Sfeir. The event will be held in close consultation with the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles and Bishop Robert Shaheen. Father Abdallah Zeidan, Rector of the Cathedral has been named the liaison to the Foundation for this event.
The General Chairman will be named soon. The format of the Congress and the issues will be decided by the Executive Committee of the Foundation. These will be released soon with the invitations to participate and a call for scholarly papers on the issues. A concept paper delineating the key issues will be prepared shortly.
The Congress will be the second held by the Foundation. The first, held in 1994 in Los Angeles, was a highly successful conference that generated a body of study on the Maronite and Lebanese issues. It is still used today for research and background and development of policy by various bodies. The Congress also brought about the formation of the Foundation to further Maronite goals and objectives under the guidance of the Patriarch. It was remarkable for the highly dignified manner in which it was held, and the resulting actions that came from the resolutions.
The International Maronite Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to the support of the goals and policies of the Patriarchy of the Maronite Church. It advocates his positions and works to support his religious, spiritual, humanitarian and political objectives.