The Maronite bishops held their monthly meeting at the patriarchal headquarters in Bkerke, chaired by Patriarch Bechara Rai, with the participation of the general superiors of the Maronite orders. They discussed ecclesiastical and national issues. At the conclusion of the meeting, they issued the following statement:
1. The fathers send greetings to the workers on their feast day and support their rights to wages and guarantees that ensure them and their families a decent life. They express their solidarity with them to protect the sanctity of work, by which they continue God's creation and glorify Him through their good deeds in accordance with moral law. Workers should remember that they are sanctified by their work. No one has the right to evade work and depend on others. They address employers who neglect their workers and deprive them of the fruits of their labor with the words of James the Apostle: "Their cries rise up to the ears of the Lord Almighty" (James 5:4).
2. The fathers express their deep regret over the postponement of essential national entitlements, such as the election of a president of the republic and municipal and optional elections, under various pretexts. They call upon the esteemed deputies to assume their responsibilities and expedite the election of a president of the republic while always working to protect democracy and implement the constitution.
3. The fathers regret the recent decision issued by the Ministry of National Education regarding amendments to the content of official exam materials, which contribute to the deterioration of the overall educational level. They remind the meeting of the rights of their children, despite the exceptional circumstances, to serious and credible official exams that assess all educational materials, crown the efforts of all components of the educational family, and witness both within and outside Lebanon to the quality of education in the country.
4. The fathers appreciate the efforts of brotherly and friendly countries to neutralize Lebanon from the ongoing war in Gaza and the subsequent war in southern Lebanon, which has affected most of the villages along the Lebanese border, resulting in human casualties, injuries, damage to buildings, crops, and woodlands, leading to the displacement of families and disrupting their normal life cycle, casting their fate into uncertainty.
5. The fathers refuse the desire of some international authorities to keep the Syrian displaced persons on Lebanese soil, without regard for the existential dangers this poses to Lebanon, threatening its entity and state, and turning it into a breeding ground for chaos and various security deviations as well as material and moral corruption.
6. The fathers call on the caretaker government to assume its responsibilities regarding the implementation of what has been agreed upon concerning municipalities to control Syrian displacement within their respective domains, and not to leave the matter vulnerable to political and leadership disputes.
7. The fathers extend their best wishes to their brothers in the churches following the Eastern calendar on the occasion of the end of their blessed fasting period and the approaching Easter holiday. They ask God to unify Christians in love and solidarity.
8. The fathers implore the Mother of God, Lady of Lebanon, at the beginning of the month of May dedicated to her, to encompass our homeland and its sons and daughters with her tenderness, so that they have the ability to rise again and regain their prominent position in the region and the world.
