Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi condemned the hostage situation of the presidency during the inauguration of Saint Sharbel Church in Ehden, which was funded by Tony Hamid Franjieh and his family. He questioned, "Who will liberate it? Who has the authority to behead the state? Where is the constitution, where is the law, and where is justice? For us, we condemn and denounce all this performance, obstruction, and violation of the constitution and law, as well as the interference with the destiny of the state and its people."
He stated, "The church, with its human element, is an organized community in which authority and law prevail over everyone, from the head of the church, the Pope of Rome, to the last baptized believer. Thus, it is a representation of the state and a model. However, in Lebanon, authority is being dismantled by not electing a president, despite the existence of two main candidates who appeared in the last electoral session. We still do not understand why the next constitutional session was disrupted, and why the parliament has not been called to complete its sessions, while public institutions are collapsing one after the other, people are becoming poorer and more oppressed, chaos is increasing, and the financial, economic, and commercial crisis is worsening."
