Saudi Arabia has invited Lebanon’s Catholic patriarch to visit the country and meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the heir designate of the Gulf kingdom.
Cardinal Béchara Boutros Al Raï, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, is likely to go to Saudi Arabia within a few weeks. While Lebanese Christian politicians often meet Saudi rulers in Riyadh, Al Raï will be the first Cardinal to visit the kingdom, where crosses and religious signs are banned.
It is a rare gesture by the country’s rulers to one of the most prominent Christian figures in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia’s royal family and religious establishment follow an austere form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism and the king sees himself as the guardian of two of Islam’s holiest sites. The crown prince has said the return of “moderate Islam” is key to his plans to modernise. "The visit", said Bishop Camillo Ballin, Apostolic Vicar for Northern Arabia, "may be the beginning of a new attitude of Saudi Arabia towards other religions".
Waleed Al Bukhari, the Saudi charge d’affaires in Lebanon, presented the invitation on 1 November when he met with the Primate of the Maronite Church at the patriarchal seat in Bkerké. During his visit to the country, Patriarch Raï will meet King Salman and Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
The country is home to around one and a half million Catholics, many of them Filipinos and Indians, whose rights are strictly curtailed.The invitation comes amid a drive by the young crown prince to modernise Saudi Arabia’s traditionally conservative society and consolidate his power. Last weekend, in a dramatic purge, 11 princes and dozens of current and former ministers were arrested. In another unexpected move last Saturday the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al- Hariri announced his resignation from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, saying that he feared for his life, while criticising Iran. He also attacked the Iran-backed Shia movement, Hezbollah, which occupies a powerful position in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia, which has supported Hariri, has been building support to challenge Iran’s influence in the region.
PICTURE: Saudi Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdelaziz Al Saud ©PA
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