NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided this morning over Sunday Mass at the summer patriarchal edifice in Diman. In his religious sermon, the Patriarch urged all thoose involved in political affairs to rememebr that “they are also entrusted with the mission of serving the common good, through which the good of all and the good of every citizen is preserved.” Touching on the growing daily-living crises in the country, al-Rahi considered that they do not spare any Lebanese family of any financial status. “This is clearly visible: in the crises of flour, bread, electricity, water and food, school fees, medicine and hospital supplies, the return of the Corona epidemic, and confusion in the treatment of public sector employees’ wages amid discretionary increases that contradict the concept of equality between citizens and employees,” he said.
The Patriarch also referred to the “ambiguities over the negotiations to demarcate the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel,” stressing that “Lebanon cannot wait for long to extract gas and oil, while Israel is doing so,” and hoping that “the United States of America, the mediating country, will resolve the issue with Israel, since Lebanon has provided the maximum for the success of the negotiations.” “Amidst this reality, the Lebanese people are waiting for rescue solutions, only to find that problems are further escalating and their poverty increasing,” al-Rahi regretted. He considered that distrust in the political community has doubled and Lebanon’s credibility in seeking aid from friends is weakened due to the absence of clear and solid rescue solutions. He thus called on the political forces, “in light of the political, parliamentary and security facts, to move away from the atmosphere of challenge that complicates Lebanon’s relations and distances the Lebanese constituencies, at a time when Lebanon is going through the most serious existential challenge in its modern history.”
