Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Raï pointed out that the case of the port explosion is a national issue that concerns every citizen and all state institutions, primarily the judiciary. He emphasized that it is not limited to the rights of the families of the victims, the injured, and the affected, but encompasses the entire country. He noted that failing to pursue this case undermines justice and the judiciary. In his Sunday sermon, Raï lamented that political leaders in Lebanon are working to dismantle political, security, economic, social, and living peace while countries around the world come and offer all kinds of assistance for Lebanon’s revival, highlighting that the way out of our crises passes through one door: the election of a new president. Raï stated, "The election of a president should not be achieved through a prior agreement; this contradicts our democratic system but should occur through voting accompanied by daily consultation and dialogue, not once a week."
In the sermon, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Raï mentioned: The name Jesus, which was announced by the angel to Mary at the Annunciation and to Joseph in a dream, was officially given eight days later at His circumcision according to the law. Thus, this day is the first of the year, celebrated as the Feast of the Name of Jesus, which means "God saves" in Hebrew and Aramaic. Saint Pope Paul VI chose this day to be "World Peace Day" in 1967. We hope that the new year 2023 will be a year of goodness, blessings, and comprehensive peace for all.
2. It pleases us to celebrate this divine liturgy together, starting the new year with the virtue of hope that strengthens our faith that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world and Lord, guiding the course of history. Let each of us help in the journey of history in harmony with God's salvific plan. I am pleased to greet all attendees and viewers participating, with a special greeting to the Sacred Heart family present with us, acknowledging their efforts in spreading the devotion to the Sacred Heart and their acts of kindness towards those in need.
I greet the delegation of the families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion on August 4, 2020, whose wounds have yet to heal and whose tears will not dry as long as politicians obstruct the investigation, which has been stalled for two and a half years. The issue of the port explosion is a national issue that affects every citizen and every state institution, especially the judiciary. It is not limited to the rights of the families of the victims, the injured, and the affected but encompasses the whole country, which suffered severe damage initially during the explosion, with more than 245 lives lost and thousands injured, disabled, and economically affected.
The second wave of damage is due to the obstruction and freezing of the investigation for two and a half years, which is a crime in itself that cannot go unpunished as if it were a mere accident. The families who lost their loved ones unjustly and for no reason are still demanding to know the truth about who killed their children for accountability and justice, a sacred right. They have the right to appeal to the United Nations for the appointment of an international committee to investigate the truth and to support the stalled local investigation.
Together with them, we raise our voices high and demand that the politicians obstructing the investigation: keep your hands off the judiciary and do not hinder its role. If it fails to reach the truth in this case, justice will fall, alongside the judiciary’s entirety, dignity, effectiveness, and role. Do not collude to amend laws and fabricate solutions that suit your demands, especially forcibly dismissing the investigating judge and burying the investigation to evade responsibility and accountability.
Keep your hands off the judiciary and let it do its role. Whenever it finds a legal solution, you immediately seek to undermine it through arbitrary and capricious lawsuits before a court whose membership is not complete, after you politically obstructed its completion by refusing to sign the decree for partial judicial appointments.
3. The Universal Church bids farewell with grief to His Holiness, former Pope Benedict XVI, defender of the faith, great teacher, and theologian. We part with certainty of hope that he enters the glory of heaven and will be a good intercessor for the Church and Lebanon, which was one of his last apostolic visits and beloved to him. We accompany his passing with this holy sacrifice, asking God to compensate the Church with holy shepherds.
4. The Church and the world celebrate "World Peace Day," praying for the establishment of peace among peoples and throughout the world. It is a celebration of Christ, who is our peace and a gift of peace to all people. He came to bring together what was divided, to remove sin and hatred, calling humanity to unity and brotherhood.
In this new year, the Church desires to affirm her calling and mission to be in Christ a sign and means of peace in the world and for the world. It does this by spreading the Gospel of peace. When we say "the Church," we mean its pastors and believers, its communities and institutions, indeed all people of good will.
Since peace is a gift from God to our land, committing to it has become an essential act. It is like a building in a state of permanent construction, to which everyone is invited to contribute: parents in the family to live in peace, testify to it, and raise their children in it; teachers in schools and universities to convey the values of knowledge and humanity’s historical and cultural heritage; men and women in the labor world to struggle for the dignity of human work based on justice and solidarity; state leaders to ensure peace by providing the common good; workers in international organizations to continue their work effectively; and believers to promote peace and brotherhood through ecumenical dialogue and interfaith dialogue, recognizing that true faith is against war and violence.
5. As we exchange greetings for the new year with all peoples and hope it to be a year of goodness and peace, may everyone see it as an opportunity to return to a living conscience, to evaluate what has passed, and to prepare goodness for the coming year. Nations should reject the tendency to dominate one another, end wars, and meet in enduring peace, so all the peoples of the world may live in abundance and prosperity without competition and conflict. We cannot be in the image and likeness of God, creating crises we do not need and waging futile wars to quench the desires of international officials who are never satisfied with their international borders.
6. In this context, we are saddened and troubled that political leaders in Lebanon are striving to dismantle political, security, economic, social, and living peace while countries around the world come and offer all kinds of assistance for Lebanon's revival, starting from projects for energy and water, through construction projects such as roads, ports, and airports, to loans and organizing special conferences for Lebanon, which do not receive a responsive ear. They do not respond to conferences, the International Monetary Fund, or the statements from brotherly and friendly countries, nor to the recommendations of the United Nations or the calls of His Holiness Pope Francis. What are they waiting for to alleviate the suffering of the people and to establish a plan to rescue Lebanon?
7. Everyone should be convinced that the path to solve our crises passes through the election of a new president for the republic. Where is the remaining authority? Where are the remaining powers for the institutions? A minister boycotts the council one day and participates the next. A minister refuses to sign decrees lacking consensus and signs the next day, disregarding his previous position regardless of the importance of the decree. While we wish for the continuity of the state’s work, we refuse to pass decrees that do not conform to the constitution or consider the powers closely associated with the president of the republic, even if the position is vacant, as some ministers have done.
It is futile for constitutional institutions and the experts surrounding them to devise constitutional interpretations to manage their affairs and analyze their powers. What is required is simple: to elect a president of the state, who must be honest, courageous, respected, and not afraid, gathering national components, restoring matters to their rightful place, placing all parties under the state's umbrella, working for the return of Syrian refugees to their country, finding a solution for Palestinian refugees, and taking initiatives on both Arab and international levels to restore Lebanon to its historical place and to devise a new creative role for this historic country.
However, the election of a president is not to be achieved through the novelty of a prior agreement—this contradicts our democratic system—but through voting combined with consultation and dialogue, day by day, not just once every week. At that point, the Parliament should stop that farcical show it has performed ten times. We sincerely hope that no one will intentionally disable the head of the republic and the institutions, presenting Lebanon as a failed state unworthy of existence or survival, as it is, and therefore demands change and the establishment of another state along the lines of the mini-states that are spreading in the Middle East, disregarding democracy and pluralistic composition.
We say: It is a source of pride for the MPs to have their names listed among those who worked to save Lebanon through the election of a distinguished president. Do not disappoint the hopes of the people who elected you. Come to achieve this great accomplishment at the beginning of the new year.
8. Let us pray, brothers and sisters, that we all begin this new year 2023 in the name of Jesus, wishing for a year of goodness and peace for everyone. Praise and thanks be to God now and forever, Amen.
