"What does the Lord save us from? Sickness, problems, daily life concerns, difficult circumstances that each of us face! These all are part of the salvation because salvation is ultimate and comprehensive. It touches upon the inner self."

"Locals have the right to live in peace. Let these young outlaws who abandoned God come to their senses."

"Whenever the judge is weak politically and militarily speaking he goes to persecute the minorities to cover his own weakness."

"Our conscience cannot be quiet when we hear and see around us the pragmatic situation of the poor. It is not enough to give advice, or to make strategies which are useful but the essential is to share what we are and what we have with them. They are poor yet rich, because when we encounter them we discover our neediness. We become rich in our humanity when we welcome them with love and walk with them on the path of life."

"Their homeland is the land of their ancestors. The homeland is not a hotel."

"We have to change the situation. Everybody is closing his country against the neighbor. We have to open these frontiers to each other and live in one community, one fraternity of people. This is the meaning of Christian life, this the meaning of our religion."

"You have to plant hope, but you have to have hope for it to be planted. Optimism and hope, sometimes we don't have it."

"Many new martyrs have been added during this heavy crisis that has torn Syria apart since 2011. Silent prayers filled with tears find refuge in the ultimate meaning of Christian witness, the First Martyr, our ultimate Wall of Lamentation, our only Hope."

"I think the addict has a bad opinion of himself and of others. When he sees that somebody loves him and appreciates him, he begins to love life. Then, slowly, he can go forward in life. This needs time."

"There may be no other Lebanese but you who wants civil war in Lebanon. Do not threaten us with war."

"It would be great if Christians in the West would petition their government so that, for example, the US government take account of the importance of Christians in the Middle East. It seems that sometimes that economic considerations have precedence, as has been the case in Iraq, for example. Western policy should ensure that Christians remain in the Middle East – their presence is vital. The Lebanese example shows why: Lebanese Muslims are very much influenced by Christians – they are different than Muslims in Syria or Iraq, because they have lived side by side with many Christians and have been exposed to Christian values, including their support for democracy, and tolerance. That is a vital, indispensable gift Christians have to offer the region."