BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai lashed out at Lebanese politicians Monday, accusing them of deliberately seeking vacuums in state institutions and violating the Constitution to serve personal interests.
Speaking at the opening of the eighth conference of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Lebanon, Rai said: “The political leadership loses its raison d’etre if it fails its commitments to the people, and in Lebanon the ruling class is disabled.”
Rai, who had recently returned from a pastoral visit to Australia, said Lebanese expatriates were distressed by the state of decadence and dissolution that Lebanon has reached as a result of the politicians’ lousy performance.
“They (expatriates) condemned Lebanese parliamentarians who are provoking vacuum in the legislative authorities and have extended their own terms, violating the constitution cold-bloodedly,” Rai said.
Rai cautioned that the unity and dignity of the family in Lebanon is threatened, calling on the authorities to initiate economic and social development programs aimed at preserving the family’s integrity.
“The church will double its efforts to meet the needs of the families, and we urge the civil society to work closely and with solidarity in order to preserve the family (in the absence of state),” Rai added.
Lebanon has been without a president for more than five months due to divisions among lawmakers to elect a successor to President Michel Sleiman whose term expired on May 25.
Parliament also extended its mandate last week by more than two and a half years, after failing to hold general elections which were supposed to be held more than a year ago. It was the second time that lawmakers prolonged their tenure, citing presidential vacuum, security and lack of agreement on a new election law.
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