Patriarch Maronite Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Raï presided over Sunday Mass at Our Lady's Church in the Patriarchal seat in Bkerke, assisted by Bishops Paul Sayah and Samir Mazloum, with participation from several bishops and priests.
After the Holy Gospel, Raï delivered a sermon titled "I was hungry and you fed me," stating: "This Gospel is indeed the Gospel of love: the truth is that the Lord Jesus, by His incarnation, identified with every human being, and through His sufferings, with every sufferer. His love encompasses all people in body, soul, and spirit. To this love, in truth, He calls us, and it does not exclude anyone; it is a duty, especially for every person in responsibility within the church, society, and state. It is a duty for our political leaders who neglect their responsibilities to serve the Lebanese people, who have been stripped of their most basic human rights for a decent life, while they paralyze the state and public life with their stubbornness in obstructing the formation of the executive authority represented by the government, leading us to doubt their national intentions."
Raï added: "It is truly sad and shameful that an unjustified disagreement over the application of Article 53/4 of the Constitution has strained the relationship between the President of the Republic and the designated Prime Minister to the extent of communicating through media offices and affiliated parties, resulting in barriers that increase the fractures in our internal unity. It is regrettable to say that this is not the normal relationship between a President who is supposed to rise above conflicts and parties and a designated Prime Minister who is expected to embrace everyone and free himself from all. If the relationship between them does not mend, we will not have a government. They are obliged to agree on the formation of a 'national mission' government comprising exceptional specialized elites, not ordinary members from leaders and parties. The persistent obstruction leads to a revolution of the hungry and deprives them of their basic rights, driving the country to collapse. This is a conspiratorial and destructive logic that requires an end for the sake of rescuing Lebanon."
Raï emphasized condemning the violence accompanying protests in the beloved city of Tripoli. He denounced the attacks on public institutions, private properties, the Lebanese Army, and security forces. "Instead of analyzing, political leaders, who stands behind the protesters to justify your chronic failures, it would be better to preempt the rising explosion and address the conditions of impoverished neighborhoods in Tripoli and the widespread hunger in the country. You yourselves are opening the doors for saboteurs and their handlers."
"Cease ignoring the real causes, which are social, financial, professional, and living realities. Poverty drives the protesters, hunger lies ahead, despair fills their hearts and encourages them. You are tossing responsibilities and competing to interpret the reasons for the protests and their objectives, just as you are tossing responsibilities regarding the reasons for not forming the government, which are feeble."
"With sorrow, we say: the people of Lebanon have never been as orphaned as they are today. Instead of looking to their state, they look to other countries. Instead of organizing their elections, they await the elections of others. Instead of seeing reform in their country's institutions, they look to international community institutions. Instead of trusting their leaders, they place all their trust in foreign officials. Instead of finding comfort in the justice of their state, they seek international justice. So, have you drawn a lesson from this and rectified yourselves and your responsibilities?"
"Justice is the foundation of governance: the first requirement of this principle is that the political authority must fulfill its primary duty, which is to operate according to the provisions of the Constitution and establish constitutional institutions, foremost of which is forming a government, separating powers, and freeing the judiciary and administration from political interference; so they do not corrupt. Unfortunately, this is occurring here."
"If the judiciary is not independent, it will not be just, but will become an instrument of injustice, malice, and reliance on deceit and fabricated files, compromising human dignity. This, sadly, is what we are witnessing these days. Individuals are being wronged for political reasons and personal and factional calculations through the misuse of the judiciary. What? Have we turned into a police state, a dictatorship? The judicial authority must tighten its grip and regulate every judge who follows the orders of politicians and the ruling authority, maintaining the people's trust in the judiciary. And where do we stand regarding the judicial investigation into the Beirut Port explosion, and how long will the detainees wait for the end of the investigation to know their fate?"
"In light of this catastrophic situation—political, security, economic, living, judicial, and moral—we renew the voice released by the heads of the Islamic and Christian sects last Thursday, with its five points, the first of which is: adherence to loyalty to Lebanon as a state of law and order and a message of coexistence, and respect for human dignity and rights and freedoms, keeping it self-distanced from external conflicts and exploitative calculations."
"Indeed, all these matters fall within the framework of social love, for which God will hold us accountable on the evening of life. O Lord, plant in our hearts this love that we may humanize it and manifest it through our actions, so that they are not hearts of stone. To You, O Holy Trinity, God of Love—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—be all glory and praise now and forever. Amen."
