Rai: Responsibility is not domination but service

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai said Sunday that every official should understand that "responsibility is not domination but service."

"Is Lebanon still faithful to its identity? Does it carry out its mission with courage and responsibility? We are all called — officials and citizens — to restore Lebanon's true image, to bring back justice, to restore freedom, to open the doors of hope to young people, and to build a state worthy of the sacrifices of the fathers and the dreams of the children," said Rai in his Sunday homily, as reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA). He added that "every official must understand that responsibility is not domination but service."

The 85-year-old Maronite patriarch took several weeks of rest in the spring after fracturing his hip in a fall during the Easter Mass. He resumed his activities in May.