The head of the Maronite Church, Bechara al-Rai, delivers his Sunday homily in Bkirki on May 12, 2024. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — In his Sunday homily, Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rai said that Lebanon "is going backwards" as the country has been without a president for more than 21 months, local media reported.
Lebanon has been in a presidential vacuum since former President Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022. To date, Parliament has made 12 unsuccessful attempts to elect a new president – the latest of which was more than a year ago.
"The word of God liberates, unites and gathers," Rai said. "If only every official listened to the word of God, they might change many of their negative positions, the first of which is the obstruction of the election of a president."
Meanwhile, Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut Elias Audi said on Sunday that Lebanon's leaders have "ignored the rights of the people and the salvation of the country," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). "Lebanon's leaders ... are pursuing their own interests and deepening the chasm," to evade accountability, he added.
"The drums of war are beating, anxiety about the fate of the Lebanese people is plaguing their lives, and the country is without a president who can lead the rescue and reform process, defend its rights, represent it at the negotiating table. The country also lacks an effective government capable of addressing the situation and keeping up with developments," Audi warned.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in near-daily hostilities along the Lebanese-Israeli border for months in parallel with the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza. The recent assassinations of Hezbollah's top military commander Fouad Shukur in the Southern suburbs of Beirut and Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran raise fear of an all-out war between both sides or a regional war.
Moreover, Audi urged people to "wake up from the influence of sectarianism, tribalism and partisanship that the leaders have bewitched them with, and not lose sight of the fact that their country is falling prey to greed and ignorance."
Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Kabalan, who is close to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, also delivered a speech on Sunday, calling for "a presidential settlement that affirms Lebanon's national interests and the nature of the free political decision against Washington and the West," according to NNA.
Kabalan stated that the least that can be expected in this critical moment "is to meet the duo [Hezbollah and the Amal Movement] with a presidential settlement that acknowledges the reality of Lebanon's national interests," adding that Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri "is the gateway to any charter-based presidential settlement."
Hezbollah and the Amal movement support the head of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Frangieh, for the presidency — to which the other parties have contested. The Free Patriotic movements, alongside other so-called opposition members, have previously announced their support of Finance Minister Jihad Azour for the presidency.
