This year's Christmas message from Patriarch Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi was anything but ordinary, filled with much pain and disappointment yet accompanied by hope and determination. The Patriarch warned of a "plan against Lebanon to create a presidential vacancy alongside a constitutional vacuum that complicates the election of a president even further." He called for "a conference on Lebanon under the auspices of the United Nations and friendly countries to neutralize our country from any military confrontation and to keep the situation stable during this unpredictable regional phase."
Al-Rahi stated, "They deprive our state of a president for personal, sectarian, and external interests, while we have disagreements with parties that are in conflict with the nation, and should they reconcile with it, everyone would gather and Lebanon would immediately unite." He questioned, "Did not certain political groups prevent the formation of a government before the end of President Aoun's term despite knowing the government was automatically resigned and in caretaker status? Why are you destroying Lebanon? The priority is to elect a president."
He added, "Those who mistakenly think, whether domestically or externally, that they can act based on the equation of victory and defeat are miscalculating; they are already defeated. The more challenges intensify, the more we stand firm against the plots, leading to the salvation of Lebanon and consolidating its existence. We will not change our customs for all of Lebanon and its people, as there are those who want a president for themselves and their agenda, not for historical Lebanon, and this is something we will not allow to happen, as Lebanon does not belong to one team over another."
He also stressed that "our crisis today comes from outside the entity, the system, and legitimacy, and the problem is that those who reject Lebanon's system, identity, and specificity have not presented any constitutional project clarifying what they want. The leaked information about their project does not suit any Lebanese component except for those with private interests and is certainly not better than the existing Lebanon." He added, "It is the duty of every Lebanese to appreciate our commitment to making Lebanon a meeting place for diverse religions and civilizations to serve as a message, for Lebanon is not a land of minorities or majorities but a homeland for every community searching for spiritual values and a civilized, cultural, and modern way of life in need of messengers. But where are the messengers today?"
In conclusion, he deemed that "Herod is represented today by the concerned Lebanese politicians who are killing our people through impoverishing, depriving, and displacing them, by obstructing the election of a president and dismantling constitutional institutions, hindering proper administration and governance, and implementing reforms and curbing the dollar." He added with emotion, "But our hope in Christ is unshakeable."
