Lebanon’s flawed acquiescence

Sometimes it’s good to learn from history. It was the year 1075 and the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by German king Henry IV, stretched over much of central Europe. As ruler of the Empire it was Henry IV’s divine right to ordain bishops and other clergymen, an authority that the new pope Gregory VII, a reformer, canceled by papal decree. The German king renounced the pope and in turn the pope excommunicated and dethroned Henry IV. The Pope had the tool of excommunication to make Henry IV abide by his wishes. The end result of this enforcement was that the Germans became more and more against the powers of the pope, which ultimately deteriorated relations between the papacy and the monarchy, and the bond of trust with it. In late February, Saudi Arabia announced it was withdrawing $4 billion in grant money it had pledged to Lebanon in 2014 but