NNA - The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rahi, expressed his view that "The parliamentary council, through its president and members, deliberately and without legal justification, is depriving Lebanon of a president in violation to the constitution," asking, "where is the covenant, and where is the fundamental Christian element in the formation of the national covenant?"

During the Easter mass from Bkerke, Patriarch Rahi emphasized that "the South is the heart of Lebanon and is experiencing the most suffering and hardship," sending greetings "to the steadfast people of the South in their towns and villages under the sound of shelling, and to all those who have lost loved ones, had their homes destroyed, and have been displaced."

He warned that "the South must not be reduced to a mere pawn in the hands of those who would exploit it for their own agendas or as a battleground for others' conflicts, as Lebanon and its South belong to all the Lebanese who together decide the future, peace, and security of their country and when to fight and for whom to fight," adding, "We call on the Lebanese people to unite in declaring an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, to abide by international resolutions, to neutralize the South from the Israeli killing machine, and to uphold the concepts of peace."

Patriarch Rahi noted that "the education sector is suffering from the economic crisis, we are witnessing a worrying emigration of competent and experienced teachers abroad and to other professions, and this matter negatively affects the quality of education in our schools," pointing out that "this requires the state to speed up the approval of new legislation to ensure stability for teachers and guarantee their right to a decent retirement."

He added that "for the past 3 years, we have witnessed an almost complete halt in social security services for medical care and hospitalization, as well as delays in paying the entitlements of certain beneficiaries in some areas compared to others, this is unacceptable and extends back to 3 or 4 years ago."

Patriarch Rahi emphasized that "Lebanon's land is for the Lebanese, Syria's land is for the Syrians, and while the European community and others talk to us about integration, they close their borders to them," and added, "we say to our Syrian brothers not to be tempted by the beauty of Lebanon and the opportunities for work in it, make sacrifices instesad for your homeland Syria, with its history, civilization, and traditions, and do not leave it to those who would harm it."

He concluded, saying, "we aspire for our nation to embody an active and positive neutrality, intrinsic to its identity, drawn from our lived experience rather than a mere concept." --- MTV English News

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