BEIRUT — In his Easter message delivered from the chapel of Our Lady in Bkerkeh on Saturday, Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rai called for an end to wars and the “manufacturing and trading of weapons,” stressing that Lebanon must recover from the devastating conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli army. His remarks come amid ongoing political discussions surrounding the party’s arsenal.

“No more wars, no more manufacturing and trading of weapons; the world needs bread, not weapons,” Rai said, as reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

The recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which lasted from October 2023 to November 2024, claimed around 4,000 lives in Lebanon. Despite a cease-fire reached in late November, Israeli airstrikes continued nearly daily, resulting in over 140 additional deaths.

The Patriarch also addressed the challenges facing Lebanon’s education sector. “In light of the growing challenges faced by the education sector in our country, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive reform initiative, grounded in the freedom of education,” he said.

“This initiative can only succeed through constructive dialogue, involving all stakeholders in education — administrations, teachers, parents, and students — to develop modern, fair, and equitable legislation that preserves the rights of all members of the educational community,” he added.

Rai emphasized the need to “settle the status of the compensation fund for teachers in private schools, ensuring the rights of both current and retired teachers. Legislation should also preserve the role of free schools, which are essential in providing education to those most in need, and complete the process of updating curricula to align with contemporary demands.”

“We stress that these laws must take into account both the financial ability of parents to bear the educational burden and ensure a decent living for teachers, as well as the continued viability of private schools, particularly in remote areas where these schools are the only guarantee for the continuation of education,” he concluded.

These remarks come after an April 10 meeting in Bkerkeh aimed at resolving issues between schools and teachers’ syndicates regarding a new law on the revaluation of private teachers’ pensions. The law, published in the Journal Officiel on April 3, addresses “retroactive effects, payment of allowances, and pensions.”

The legislation has angered private schools, which are refusing to finance the compensation fund for retired teachers at their own expense, following the collapse of the Lebanese lira in 2019 and the devaluation of pension funds.