Beirut (AsiaNews) - Thanks to the initiative of the broadcaster Télé-Lumière, and its satellite operation NourSat, a "media citadel" of Catholic inspiration is emerging in the region of Fatka, district of Kesrouan. It will be made up of two large scale audiovisual media groups belonging to the Church, a radio network, magazine, and internet information portals. The site of the new complex, which will be developed on a 25 square kilometer area, has been donated by the Maronite Church. Last September, during the inauguration ceremony for the work, Maronite patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir laid the first stone. An initial estimate of the construction costs runs around 150 million U.S. dollars.

In order to discuss the project and establish a framework agreement of cooperation between the Catholic hierarchy in Lebanon and the group Télé-Lumière/NourSat, a special session of the assembly of the Eastern Catholic patriarchs was held in Bkerké from April 27-28. Presided over by Maronite patriarch, the meeting saw the participation of three other patriarchs: Greek-Catholic patriarch Gregory II, Armenian patriarch Nerses Bedros, and Syro-Catholic patriarch Ignace Youssef III, together with the bishops and superiors general of the Catholic communities of Lebanon, in addition to the board members of the two television broadcasters involved in the project.

Born in the 1990's at the initiative of a group of lay faithful committed to Church service, Télé-Lumière and NourSat are not television networks like the rest. To begin with, they are nonprofit, survive on a limited budget, and half of their personnel are volunteers, including the board members.

With a growing audience, and in view of the project for a "media citadel," it has become urgent to formalize the relationship between the group and the hierarchy. This arrangement presupposes agreements on the form and substance of the programs that are broadcast, which should be at the service of the Gospel and of the "new evangelization," and, at the same time, of peace and the rooting of the Lebanese and Eastern Christians in their country of origin. For the purpose of promoting family and social values, the polar opposite of the ethical relativism that dominates the world of the media.

The session just held was too short to fulfill its objective, so another meeting has been scheduled to work on the framework agreement. For this purpose, a commission has been appointed, made up of three bishops - Mansour Hobeika, Roland Aboujadoué, and Georges Bacouni - and a layman, Antoine Saad, secretary general of the Télé-Lumière board. For Saad, the birth of Télé-Lumière on Pentecost of 1990, and of NourSat two years later, together with recent launch of the ambitious project of the "media citadel," are manifestations of "the foolishness of God," which, according to Saint Paul, "is more wise than the wisdom of men." But the preliminary session was not useless, since Télé-Lumière and NourSat received new signs of support from the Catholic Church in Lebanon.

The hierarchy is asking that Télé-Lumière be compensated by the state for the damage it suffered during the war in July of 2006, in which some of its television repeater stations were damaged; the state has already guaranteed this kind of compensation for other television stations. Moreover, the Church is striving to create and promote means to finance the construction of the "media citadel" both in Lebanon and abroad, with recourse to the dioceses of the Eastern Catholic Church into which Lebanese have emigrated. At the same time, the Church is encouraging the diocese, the religious orders and laypeople to buy stock in NourSat, priced at 10 U.S. dollars, or to finance the purchase or construction of offices for the new "media citadel." For those who wish to join the initiative, it is possible to subscribe to guaranteed bank loans, and finance the project in this way.

Furthermore, the Catholic schools and universities are encouraging graduates and students to contribute to the financing through a campaign of "stone for a dollar." The school and university libraries are also publicizing the sale of films produced by Télé-Lumière. On the legislative level, a campaign will be launched to provide Télé-Lumière and NourSat with the legal status which at the moment, in Lebanon, only political and business television stations can enjoy. As an exception to the rule, Télé-Lumière enjoys the "benevolence" of the public authorities, on par with the Muslim religious media.

With a tiny budget of 6 million U.S. dollars per year, Télé-Lumière is a wager that has been going on since 1990, the year of its creation. About half of its 120 employees are volunteers, including the members of the board. In comparison, the smaller Lebanese television station Télé-Liban, which is owned by the state, has a budget of 26 million dollars; the largest, LBCI, has a budget of 60 million dollars. Also by way of comparison, the Arab mega-network Al Jazeera has an annual budget of 140 million dollars. In spite of everything, thanks to the spirit of sacrifice of its founders and to donations, NourSat is now capable of covering three fourths of the globe.