BEIRUT: Lebanon must not get used to the absence of a Christian president, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai warned Saturday.
“Just like any country cannot accept to be without a president, we cannot accept for any reason or plan to get used to not having a Christian president or live without him,” Rai said during a meeting with Christian religious figures of Eastern churches in the Australian capital.
Rai has been critical of political leaders’ inability to elect a new president to replace former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year term ended on May 25.
Rivals in the March 8 and the March 14 groups have traded blame over the presidential paralysis, with each political party accusing the other of disrupting the election.
During his speech in Sydney, Rai called on Christians in the world, particularly in Lebanon, "not to be afraid because they are the original citizens of these countries and not minorities.”
“The Middle East today is in dire need of hearing the words of the Bible, the words of love and peace.”
The prelate asked the international community to “put an end to the wars whose goals were now clear and based on political and economic interests as well as [benefiting from] arms trade.”
“We should also put an end to supporting extremist and terrorist groups and stop [their] funding ... and urge countries to obstruct the movement of militants in their homeland.”
Advertisement
No comments:
Post a Comment