Rai on Palm Sunday: The Guarantee of Good Politics is the Election of a President

The Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai emphasized in his Palm Sunday Mass sermon that "authority is service and cannot be tyranny; those in power are servants of the people for the common good. A true politician is a servant, and when he is not, he is a bad politician, or rather not a politician at all, because politics is a noble art for serving the common good." He added, "Politicians are called to eradicate in themselves the sins of corruption, private interests, selfishness, illicit gains, and the abuse of public funds, and they must commit to serving love, justice, and the good of the citizens." Rai continued, "Let politicians, led by the nation’s deputies, know that the guarantee of good politics is the election of a President of the Republic in order to organize constitutional institutions." He pointed out that "we are preparing with Christian deputies for a spiritual retreat to listen together to the word of God in reflections and dedicate the rest to prayer and contemplation, and we will pray together for Lebanon and its salvation from its political, social, and economic crises."