On the occasion of Saint Joseph's Day, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi presided over the Divine Liturgy at Saint Joseph Institute - Ain Touna for the Lazarist Fathers. In the sermon delivered after the Gospel, he said: "In the delicate situation of Lebanon's life, politically, economically, financially, and security-wise, our youth feel instability and lose faith in politicians and the Lebanese homeland. We face the duty of inspiring confidence in their souls and resilience until the night ends with the dawn of a new day. This requires awareness, understanding, and reading the signs of the times. Here, I want to highlight our shared responsibility: the Church, families, and schools. It is true that a person’s character is measured by the amount of hope they plant in souls." He continued: "How many countries have been destroyed in wars through bombardment, occupation, killing, and displacement. Nevertheless, their children returned and rebuilt them with their own hands. We need education that carries us to rebuild our homeland, Lebanon, stone by stone and person by person, and to raise it politically, economically, financially, and to restore our national unity and mutual trust. Lebanon is a valuable cultural asset (Pope John Paul II). Let our upcoming generations look into the Lebanese interior before looking abroad. Foreign nations have rebuilt their countries with their own hands. How ashamed we feel of ourselves when we see countries caring about the necessity of electing a president for our country, while the leaders of stalemate mock them within themselves and yearn for the failure of every initiative, whether from within or outside. This is a stain of shame on their foreheads."
He added: "Yesterday, the committee of five ambassadors visited us, and they informed us of their activities, aspirations, and work plan. We appreciated their efforts and wished them success, expressing our readiness to support them. We told the esteemed ambassadors of these friendly and actively serious countries for the salvation of Lebanon: Six years have passed during the presidency of General Michel Aoun; wasn’t it enough to agree on a figure to succeed him? And here the Republic is without a president, living in chaos for a year and a half; what have they done to agree on a presidential candidate? I frankly told the ambassadors that the solution path is outlined in the constitution, and that agreeing on a person, despite the beauty of the word, contradicts the constitution, democracy, and logic in the prevailing atmosphere of division in the country. Consensus, as we see it, gives a veto right over individuals and creates enmities gratuitously in our Lebanese family. There is a significant difference between vetoing this or that individual and simply not voting for them. The solution lies in going to the parliament and electing the president according to Article 95 of the constitution, from among the individuals whose names are proposed or others who are all deserving, in successive sessions. As a result of the votes, the deputies will agree on choosing the president that the country needs in the current circumstances, and the one who receives the required number of votes will be the one they agree upon."
