While celebrating Saint Maroun's day at Saint George's Cathedral in downtown Beirut, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai castigated politicians, “Stop procrastinating. Stop undermining the judiciary. Stop contravening the Constitution.”
Rai insisted that the danger threatening Lebanon is that of sinking into the axis of decadence. “Lebanon must show neutrality towards regional axes. We must choose the axis of civilization,” he asserted.
He estimated that neutrality is a guarantee of “internal security and external defense” as “it protects diversity and strengthens trust between the different Lebanese components, thus promoting their allegiance to Lebanon.”
Addressing President of the Republic Joseph Aoun, who was present at the mass along with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and members of the newly formed government, Rai considered that Saint Maroun's Day had regained its splendor after two years of vacancy at the presidency, following Aoun's election. He stressed that the Lebanese, Arab and Western countries had regained confidence in Lebanon, a confidence that had grown in scope following the formation of the “government of reform and salvation.”
Drawing inspiration from the example of Saint Maroun and the history of the Maronite people, the Maronite patriarch urged that Lebanon, which has suffered half a century of wars and political, ethical, social and economic decadence, should become “a homeland of peace, civilization and openness.”
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