On this Palm Sunday, which coincides with the 50th anniversary since the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai recalled the conflict that “tore apart our lives, our childhoods and our youth, and distorted our relationships with one another.”
“Lebanon has turned the page on the civil war, and today, it is turning the page on defiance of legitimacy and combating it,” Rai said in his sermon.
“However, turning pages is not enough. It is essential to examine the events that brought us to this state and to learn from them, for those who do not understand their mistakes are bound to repeat them. There is no longer time for repetition, as Lebanon needs a future worthy of its history,” he stressed.
“Therefore, it is necessary to revisit what happened, to reconcile and to engage in honest dialogue so we can move beyond this stage, just as other nations have succeeded in doing so. This is called purifying the memory.”
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