Beirut: Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai lashed out at “privacy invading” media Friday, calling on journalists to abide by standards of objectivity, after a TV program earlier this week reported on alleged corruption inside church courts.
“We join the Lebanese people in looking forward to your constructive role and objective event covering,” Rai told reporters at a press conference in Bkirki.
Some news programs cross the line of privacy and specialize in lies and deception for the purpose of evoking contempt or entertainment, Rai added, in a veiled reference to Joe Maalouf’s “7ki Jelis” show on LBCI.
The latest episode of Maalouf’s show Monday contained heavy criticism and allegations of corruption inside religious courts, including those run by Maronite churches.
Rai drew similarities between this criticism of the church and the persecution of Christians at the Roman Colosseum for the purposes of entertainment.
Rai rejected that such criticism of church courts could fall under the auspices of freedom of expression and the freedom of the press, while emphasizing that this is not “real freedom.”
“Nowadays, we are witnessing media campaigns targeting us in addition to church institutions and Christianity as if this became material for entertainment and attracting TV advertisements,” he added.
He stressed that ecclesiastical laws punish those who infringe upon church authorities and do not respect church laws.
In a discussion with the reporters following the press conference, Rai said that Saudi Arabia and Iran were influencing Lebanon’s presidential elections, which, he added, are linked to the Sunni-Shiite conflict.
He also told reporters that he has met with the Maronite leaders of Lebanon’s four main Christian parties - FPM’s Michel Aoun, LF’s Samir Geagea, Marada’s Sleiman Frangieh and Kataeb’s Amine Gemayel - in recent weeks over the election crisis.
The meetings were held separately.
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