The Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, sent a Christmas message emphasizing our presence is in the thick darkness of our night that surrounds us, as if without dawn.
He pointed out that evil makes the soul in darkness, and the birth of Christ is the origin of the Christian people, adding that the world needs the light of Christ, and the birth of Jesus is not a feast confined to Christians, but rather includes every person who yearns for righteousness and a new era that will transfer him from a temporary reality to the vastness of joy, success and permanence.
Rahi directed the officials by saying: “When will we restore the national conscience and remember the glory of the State of Lebanon, and the greatness of this people who are influential in global civilization, may we succeed in stopping the suicidal path of our existence?”
He stressed that the birth of Lebanon is the exception that the Lebanese should have proposed, as a base for the peoples of the Middle East, but we did not know the value of this blessed country.
“It would be preferable for officials to walk among the people and listen to the whining of their suffering and the screaming of children, and if they looked at their dues towards hospitals, schools, orphanages and humanitarian institutions, they would be ashamed of their souls and resigned from their responsibilities.” Rahi added, pointing out that, “we see the people of power immersed in their compromises, the exclusion of their opponents, the appointment of their accomplices, and the sharing of how to postpone the parliamentary and presidential elections for their own interests, against the interest of Lebanon.”
Rahi also affirmed that the only salvation is through the declaration of Lebanon’s positive, activist neutrality, refusing to turn Lebanon as a headquarters or corridor for any foreign presence, and a protection for partnership and unity.