A Christian judge imposes an exemplary sentence and the whole country applauds.
Last week, three young Lebanese confessed to the Sunni Muslim faith entered a church in northern Lebanon and outraged a statue of the Virgin in that temple.
The three were arrested with the accusation of “offending religious sentiments”, a very sensitive issue in Lebanon, a country in which religious coexistence between Muslims and Christians has always been in a delicate balance.
Therefore, the judge of the North Lebanon Court that has taken the case, Josline Matta Khoury (who is Christian), decided to impose as a sentence the offenders who memorized a part of the Surah of Al-‘Imrân (The family of Imran ), a Sura of the Holy Quran that talks about the Virgin Mary and her family.
In fact, the judge decided that this was the sentence, instead of proceeding to enter them in prison, which was the penalty that would have corresponded to them. And when it has been certified that the young people had memorized the indicated part, he proceeded to let them go free.
And while some expected a negative reaction to this decision by the Christian judge, the exact opposite happened . In fact, many Lebanese, beginning with the country’s Prime Minister, who is a Sunni Muslim, Saad el Hariri, welcomed the decision with great respect and considered it a sign of culture, peace and coexistence.
Well done the Judge.
I wish the same was applied to people who take the Lord’s most Holy Name in vain. Memorize John 3 well enough to be able to recite it.
His unworthy servant, Secular Franciscan
Pax et Bonum