Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rahi, presided over Sunday Mass service in Bkirki this morning.

In his sermon, Rahi called on the Lebanese to preserve Lebanon’s entity, saying: “Despite all the difficulties and calamities that befell our homeland in recent years, and despite the political crisis and economic hardship, we call on the people to preserve the Lebanese entity and regroup its energies and capabilities.

The Patriarch renewed the call to those concerned with forming the government to “rise above their personal interests and narrow calculations for the sake of the country and its people.”

Rahi considered that there are parties intending to push Lebanon towards further collapse of an evil goal.

In this regard, Rahi renewed his call to declare Lebanon’s neutrality, and to hold an international conference for Lebanon under the auspices of the United Nations, so that the country’s fate becomes independent from the current challenges in the Middle East region, far from any external influence or any compromise or settlement.

Finally, he called on states to consider the Lebanese file an existing issue in and of itself, and not a file.