Metropolitan Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audi denounced on Sunday the presidential vacancy that lasted for over a year, as well as the vacancies observed in other key posts, “as if it were a normal situation and as if life is now reduced to struggling to ensure a minimum of means of subsistence,” he said.
“Lebanon, which was a pioneer in terms of democracy and diplomacy, is absent in these existential circumstances,” said Bishop Audi in his Sunday homily.
Warning that the war in Gaza could spread to Lebanon, Bishop Audi wondered if there was a more dangerous situation than the one the country is currently going through “for the leaders to decide to elect a president.” He hoped that “those in charge will come to their senses to put Lebanon’s interests first and spare it a catastrophe.”
Regarding the war in Gaza, Bishop Audi denounced the lack of any real will to stop the massacres that have been going on for over a month. “What kind of victory is being built on the remains of children? What pride is there in killing innocent civilians? Is it heroism to deny them food and water?” he asked.
In this context, Archbishop Audi pointed the finger at the behavior of “world leaders who shamelessly rush to support the murderers of children, when they are the very ones who brandish slogans in defense of human rights.” He concluded by asking “Where have human values gone? Where is justice? Courage does not lie in a destructive war, but in the search for a just solution so that peace may prevail.”
