October 27, 2003
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, those under My Spiritual Care and those abroad, grace and peace to you:
It is with great joy and affection that I would like to announce the opening of our new website. The Internet has served as a powerful tool for communication throughout the planet, and it is my great hope that this tool will serve to express the glorious riches we have in Christ. Varying historical contexts allow for the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to renew herself in new ways to implement the unique and always true message of salvation. As our Patriarch, his Beatitude Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir has noted,
"This Spirit is what will lead the revitalization of an apostolic and missionary life, where the Church is simply not satisfied in caring for its own members, …but when possible, caring for others that call upon the Church for assistance, so that it can reveal to them the face of Christ."
Such a new evangelization may be accomplished through the World Wide Web, and we hope this new website will be a tool keeping us in touch with our religious heritage and furthering our legacy of faith to all in need. As Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has noted,
"There is a deeper reality involved here: since the very evangelization of modern culture depends to a great extent on the influence of the media, it is not enough to use the media simply to spread the Christian message and the Church's authentic teaching. It is also necessary to integrate that message into a 'new culture' created by modern communications."
We hope by the creation of this website to participate in this great project. May the grace of the most Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you always.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Bishop Robert J. Shaheen, D.D.
Bishop of the Eparchy of
Our Lady of Lebanon
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