Priests in his home country were “in a very bad situation,” said El-Tabchi, noting that Maronite Catholic clergy in America “send stipends” to try to help them.
The priest also said his relatives in Lebanon have urged him to remain in America for his safety. Although his mother misses him and wants to hug him, she told him not to “ever think of coming back to Lebanon.” El-Tabchi said, “If a mother has the heart to say this to her son, whom she hasn’t seen for two years, how would you think the situation is there?”
