Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided this morning over Sunday Mass in the Church of Our Lady in Bkirki, during which he delivered a sermon on the birth of Jesus Christ, “the Savior of the world and the Redeemer of mankind…’
“How great is man in the eyes of the Lord,” the Patriarch said, adding, “This day calls on us all to preserve our dignity as God wants it and to preserve the dignity and sanctity of every human being. No one has the right to tamper with the dignity of any person, nor to attack his life and its sanctity, for Christ redeemed him with his blood on the cross. On this basis, the Church strongly condemns any aggression against humans, including murder, torture, injustice, oppression, and arbitrariness.”
Al-Rahi went on, “In the context of the extension of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip to southern Lebanon, in contravention of Security Council Resolution 1701, and the occurrence of Lebanese casualties, the demolition of homes, the destruc
tion of orchards and forests, and the displacement of our people there, we reiterate the necessity of Lebanon returning to its positive stand of active neutrality in its message, as a land of convergence and dialogue, as a player with a role in resolving conflicts through peaceful means, and as a defender through diplomatic means of stolen rights in any Arab country, at the forefront of which are the rights of the Palestinian people to return to their land and establish their special state.”
He continued, “Lebanon’s neutrality is not something new or innovative, but rather it is at the core of the country’s identity. It dates back to the year 1860, the time of the Mutasarrifiyah, and to two months before the declaration of the State of Greater Lebanon, specifically on July 10, 1920, when the Board of Directors of the Mutasarrifiyah declared it politically neutral, in that it does not engage in fighting and is isolated from any military intervention…Later, Lebanon’s neutrality was enshrined in the National
Charter (1943) so that Lebanon would enjoy complete independence from Western and Arab countries, with no guardianship, no protection, no privilege, and no extraordinary position for any country…”
“Since then, neutrality or neutralization has appeared in all ministerial statements,” al-Rahi added, noting that “Lebanon’s neutrality also finds its roots in the Charter of the League of Arab States in 1945 and all its preparatory work and the interventions of the Lebanese.”
He explained that the consensus reached back then was that “Lebanon should be a supportive state and not a confrontational state,’ and that “Lebanon should be an element of solidarity among the Arabs and not a factor of fueling Arab conflicts nor to deviate from Arab solidarity in favor of strategies that do not serve common Arab interests.”
The Patriarch concluded his sermon by praying for all parties in Lebanon, politicians in particular, to be committed to building a bright history for the country in its spiritual, political, and socia
l values and aspects.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon