Suleiman Frangieh, the head of the Marada Movement, affirmed that true Christianity is embodied in dialogue, openness, love, forgiveness, and that every person should be guided by their conscience to recognize those who embody these values and those who do not. He stated, "We are Arab Christians, and we come from an Arab home; we believe in Arabism, dialogue, and the best relationships with everyone, as the future of the country lies in its unity and coexistence."
During a lunch invitation from Father Klem Touni, the head of the Mar Georges Monastery in the town of Ichache, Zgharta district, he continued his annual tradition by saying, "We are Christians by faith, creed, and politics, and everyone witnesses our history, as does this monastery which has given three martyrs, serving as evidence that our region has maintained coexistence."
Frangieh went on to say, "We carry our political stance proudly on our foreheads and we are not ashamed of it, rather we take pride because we have never sought strife. We have always been open to everyone and we have worked and will continue to work for all of Lebanon." He noted that the Maronite Church is the conscience of the Maronites, and that the Christian memory must be complete and need to see things as they truly are.
"Yesterday, the boycott of the parliamentary session was a deadly sin and against the constitution to some, while today that same group considers this boycott a right." He pointed out that "Christians agree on the negative but not on the positive, and it would be better if they could agree positively for once, with the constitution serving as the guarantee. If they do not want the constitution, they should have the courage to call for its amendment. However, to be with the constitution when it serves our interests and against it when it does not is unacceptable."
He stated that not applying the constitution leads us to become like a council of sects whereby the four Christian parties agree on a president and, at that point, there would be no need for elections—“Is this what they want?” He emphasized that for the election of the president, the presence of two-thirds of the council must be ensured, meaning that half of the Christian deputies need to be present at the session to secure legitimacy.
