Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï at the Baabda Palace, on March 16, 2026. (Credit: X/@LebanesePresidency)
BEIRUT — Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai on Monday reiterated his support for President Joseph Aoun and army commander General Rodolph Haykal.
Both have faced criticism recently Aoun for seeking direct negotiations with Israel to achieve a new cease-fire, and Haykal for refusing to use force to disarm Hezbollah. The presidency and army command are traditionally positions held by Maronites.
"We express our esteem for President Joseph Aoun and for his work at the head of the Lebanese state," said the patriarch after being received by the head of state at the presidential palace in Baabda.
"We support every step he takes for the good of Lebanon, and we also back the Lebanese army and its commander," he added, noting that he had heard "reassuring words" from the president.
On Sunday, during his homily in Bkerké, the head of the Maronite Church had already defended Aoun and Haykal, stating that in the current "difficult circumstances," it is necessary to "protect the state, its president and its army."
"In times of fierce war, you do not change leaders," he declared.
In recent weeks, a campaign was launched targeting General Haykal, calling for his resignation because of his refusal to forcibly disarm Hezbollah out of fear of internal tensions.
Cabinet asked the army on March 2 to implement the plan to establish a monopoly on arms "by all possible means" and "as quickly as possible." The United States reportedly pushed for the dismissal of the army commander, a proposal that was immediately rejected by the authorities.
The patriarch also affirmed his support for "the Christians of the outlying regions," after several Israeli strikes last week killed several people in Christian villages in the border area with Israel. The parish priest of Qlayaa was killed in artillery fire, while three workers from Rmeish were targeted by a drone.
On Sunday, March 8, a man in his seventies from Alma al-Shaab, a village now completely evacuated, was also killed in a drone strike. The Christians of the South "are Lebanon's shield at the borders and are an integral part of this country," insisted Rai, who announced that he would ask the bishop of the Maronite Archdiocese of Sour, Charbel Abdallah, "to reside in Rmeish," a border village in the Marjayoun district in the center of the border area, "as the patriarch's representative."
An apostolic nuncio tour led by Archbishop Paolo Borgia is currently underway in this area, aiming to provide humanitarian aid to those residents who have remained.
