I just read of Maronite Bishop Edmund Farhat’s death on AsiaNews website. He died last December 16. When Brother Francis went to Rome to present our case once again before the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in June of 1986, it was arranged through Maronite Msgr. Lahood, a good friend of Brother Francis, that he meet with then Msgr. Farhat who would “open doors” for him in Rome. Msgr. Farhat did just that. I do not remember all the details even though I was Brother’s companion for the trip. but I do remember how gracious and energetic Msgr. Farhat was. We met, through his efforts, with the Lebanese ambassador to the Vatican, a young man whose name I’ve forgotten. I also remember that the future bishop managed an appointment for us to meet with the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Carlo Confalioneri, who died only two months later. We met with other prelates besides Cardinal Ratzinger and his secretary, including Ukrainian Patriarch Cardinal Lubachevsky and Cardinal Edouard Gagnon, but these were “cold calls” arranged by divine providence.
AsiaNews: The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara al-Rahi, paid tribute on Sunday to Bishop Edmond Farhat (83), 40 days after his death in Rome (16 December 2016).
Born in Lebanon, in the village of Aïn Kfah, a hidden pearl in the Byblos-Jbeil region amid the olive groves, this Maronite bishop was little known to the faithful in Lebanon, since he had been picked by the Vatican to serve the Church in Rome itself. Full report is here.
