In his Sunday sermon, the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, blamed “all officials, whether rulers or opponents, as being responsible for the terrifying collapse,” saying that “the rulers committed disobedience and the forces of the de-facto turned against Lebanon’s identity and constitution and mortgaged the land, the people and the state to foreign projects.”

Rahi pointed out that “the opposition forces went on their daily disputes at the expense of national issues and did not take the initiative to reach an agreement,” stressing that “all the Lebanese are living the consequences of the collapse at all levels, and a solution must be found, and there must be a correcting popular uprising and a national change, and a recovery plan for the benefit of the country and from going to the United Nations to ensure that Lebanon remains free, neutral and strong.”

The Maronite Patriarch added: “It is unfortunate that the practice of the judiciary in Lebanon is intolerable, as some judges freeze valid files, install fake files, disregard the guilty, and do not distinguish between misdemeanour and felony, and the judiciary was lacking that the Minister of Finance unjustly refrained from signing the cassation commission’s decree, in order for the investigation into the crime of the Beirut port explosion remains pending.

Rahi added, “Enough is enough, and we will defend with all our power to preserve Lebanon, and we want to live here free, with heads held high in civilization and prosperity. Trust in yourself and in the future, and trust that victory is for the right, and we are the owners of the right, cause and faith.”