Doreen Abi Raad

Supporters of the Lebanese Forces celebrate in Lebanon's northern coastal city of Batroun as they await results after the end of voting in the parliamentary elections on May 15.

Lebanon’s Future Poses a Challenge for the Newly Elected Parliament

The country’s largest parliamentary bloc, led by Iranian-backed Hezbollah, lost its parliamentary majority, but urgent action is required from a new government to address Lebanon’s devastating economic crisis.

Doreen Abi Raad World May 19, 2022

A boy waves a flag Lebanon's Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah during a rally to attend a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, broadcast on a giant screen, in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, on May 9, 2022, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 15. The portraits on billboards are fighters from the group who were killed in confrontations with Israel or in Syria.

Parliamentary Elections Pivotal for Troubled Lebanon

The Middle Eastern country is in the middle of an unprecedented economic crisis, labeled a ‘deliberate depression’ by the World Bank.

Doreen Abi Raad World May 10, 2022

Clockwise L-R: Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East Ignace Joseph III Younan meets with Pope Francis January 12, Meeting with youth group representatives at the parish of Saint Peter and Paul in Qamishli, Syria December 16, 2021, Celebrating Mass at the Church of Our Lady in Homs, Syria May 15, 2021. Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch Ignace Joseph III Younan (center) celebrates Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption in Aleppo, Syria May 16, 2021.

Syriac Catholic Patriarch: ‘We Keep Going on in Hope’

The Register interviews Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan on the increased emigration of Christians from Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Doreen Abi Raad Interviews February 9, 2022

Maronite Catholic youth were among the teams of Lebanese youth who took the initiative to to clear the wreckage, clean up homes and serve suffering people in affected neighborhoods in the aftermath of the massive blast in Beirut Aug. 4. Father Toufic Bou-Hadir, director of the Maronite Patriarchal Commission for Youth, is the priest pictured with the youth.

Lebanese Youth a Light of Hope in Beirut Blast Aftermath

‘They are the sign of hope for us in this catastrophe,’ said Father Toufic Bou-Hadir, director of the Maronite Patriarchal Commission for Youth.

Doreen Abi Raad World August 25, 2020

TOP: Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour (Our Lady of Jamhour), located in the Beirut suburb of Baabda. BOTTOM: Cadmous College (a preK – 12 Catholic school) in the biblical coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s ‘Pillar’ of Catholic Education at Risk of Collapsing

Lebanon’s longstanding tradition of Catholic schools stems from the Pontifical Maronite College in Rome whereby many Maronite priests, returning to Lebanon from Rome with a zeal for education, in turn opened schools all over their homeland.

Doreen Abi Raad World May 29, 2020

Army soldiers look on as Lebanese anti-government protesters march toward the capital in Beirut's downtown district Jan. 25. The political impasse is worsening an already-dire economic crisis in Lebanon that the World Bank says may see the number of people living in poverty climb from a third to half the population.

Lebanon’s Economic Crisis Worsens

Maronite Catholic archbishop: ‘This is an emergency.’

Doreen Abi Raad World March 3, 2020

Sister Annie Demerjian says, “There is so much suffering.” But faith gives strength as the people heal, with the support of the sisters.

‘We Need to Do Something to Give Hope to Our People in Syria’

An interview with Sister Annie Demerjian of the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary

Doreen Abi Raad World February 15, 2020

Lebanese anti-government protesters celebrate the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the southern city of Sidon on Oct. 29 on the 13th day of anti-government protests.

The Cry of the People in Lebanon Prompts Largely Peaceful Uprising

In a massive gathering, residents of all religions have mobilized together to demand remedies to the economic crisis and rampant political corruption that afflicts their nation.

Doreen Abi Raad World October 30, 2019