Lebanese diplomacy must result in tangible outcomes, Rai says

BEIRUT — Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Rai presided Sunday, in the presence of President Joseph Aoun, over the consecration of the altar of Blessed Patriarchs Estephan Douaihy and Elias Hoyek, at Saint George Cathedral in downtown Beirut, where their relics were placed.

In his Sunday homily, Bechara Rai stressed that "Lebanese diplomacy faces the challenge of translating its external actions into tangible results: supporting the state, addressing the future of the South and post-UNIFIL, the monopoly on weapons, moving negotiations forward, and restoring political and economic support for Lebanon. There must be clarity of purpose, continuity of action, and determination to achieve results."

It should be recalled that in his speech Friday before the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had defended his vision of a fully sovereign state capable of carrying out the reforms needed to revive the country, stating that "no one speaks for Lebanon and no one negotiates on its behalf except the Lebanese state, through its constitutional institutions."

Rai then discussed the meeting held in Paris on Sept. 17 in support of the Lebanese Army, during which President Joseph Aoun had called on international partners to expedite preparations for an international conference aimed at supporting the army and Internal Security Forces. "Positions must be translated into concrete measures, and the principle of a sole, capable state, holding exclusive authority over arms and security decisions, must be firmly established," the patriarch asserted.

Finally, addressing depositors' rights, Rai stated that "banking reform and the restoration of rights must not remain unresolved." "Patience does not mean postponing solutions, accommodating mistakes, or managing the crisis indefinitely," he said, calling on Lebanon to move "from crisis management to consolidating stability and building the future."