Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi believes that "there are those working to give Lebanon a sectarian and confessional nature, and we must be aware to defend Lebanon." In his sermon during Sunday Mass in Bkerke, Al-Rahi pointed out that "the preamble of the Constitution states that the people are the source of authorities, and according to this law, all those responsible in constitutional institutions are appointed by the people. However, we see them acting against the people; they have impoverished them, starved them, made them ill, and deprived them of their basic needs and rights to live, as they have denied them justice by politicizing the judiciary." Al-Rahi asked, "Isn't it time for deputies to meet and choose the best president for the country's needs? The best president is the one who brings the Lebanese back to Lebanon, and we must not forget that regional and international challenges besiege Lebanon with its president and government. The region is at a crossroads of extremely dangerous events, making their outcomes and repercussions difficult to predict." He also added, "Where is the justice that is the foundation of kingship, with judges at war amongst themselves—judges against judges, powers against powers, and grudges against grudges? Lebanon has never experienced a judicial war that humiliated the judiciary's status and turned judicial groups into factions fighting among themselves, indifferent to the rights of the oppressed and the people."
Al-Rahi stated, "We hope that the investigating judge, Judge Tarek Bitar, continues his work to uncover the truth. What saddens us is that the absence of a quorum also affects meetings of judicial bodies, which is unacceptable. For the judiciary has its mechanisms and hierarchy. We affirm that we will not allow the Beirut port crime to go unpunished." He also observed that "the state, with its institutions and agencies, is doing its utmost to lose the citizens' trust in it and drive them to an open revolution. Who benefits from this scheme? The most dangerous thing is that the country is now dominated by military agencies in the absence of any governmental oversight and executive authority, and all of this is a result of not electing a president for the country."
