Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai declared on Sunday that “Lebanon’s survival depends on reversing the downward trajectory that the country is experiencing.” He emphasized that this requires “the election of a president of the Republic who would restore the essence of national partnership,” using the State of Greater Lebanon as a starting point and reference.
Rai also found it “strange that the state does not consider the commemoration of the creation of the State of Lebanon on September 1, 1920, as a national holiday.” He made this statement during the Sunday mass held at Our Lady of Ilige in Mayfouk, which was dedicated to honoring the martyrs of the Lebanese resistance.
In this context, the patriarch asserted that “without the martyrs of the Lebanese resistance, Lebanon would not be the country it is today.”
He called for an “examination of conscience,” believing that some factions within the country seek to transform Lebanon into “real estate rather than a homeland,” aiming to exploit the land for “projects without a state, order, constitution or law.”
Rai further explained, “There is a significant difference between recognizing Lebanon and believing in it,” noting that “recognizing is merely acknowledging Lebanon’s existence, while believing involves accepting Lebanon in its essence, its system, its values and its mission.”
He concluded by stating, “The Lebanese are enduring an invasion worse than occupation, and this situation has weakened their faith in their homeland.”
