Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has renewed his call on the formation of a non-partisan government before carrying out any forensic audit.
"No forensic audit will be carried out before a government of non-partisan experts is formed," Rahi said during Sunday’s mass service in Bkirki.
He said Lebanon requires a united government for all the Lebanese, not a group of administrations ruling in one cabinet where each sect has its own agenda.
“A united cabinet would prevent sectarian conflicts which are rejected,” Rahi said.
His sermon came in light of the ongoing dispute between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri over the formation of a new cabinet.
Lebanon has been without a government since shortly after the Aug. 4 explosion that destroyed the port of Beirut and devastated large neighborhoods of the capital, killing hundreds of people, injuring thousands and making 300,000 homeless.
“The world is waiting for a new government to take positive initiatives towards Lebanon,” Rahi said.
Also on Sunday, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audi urged the ruling class to step down and pave way for competent people to run the country.
“Politicians are not ashamed of their practices. They continue their destructive policies in Lebanon,” Audi said during his sermon.
As for Grand Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, he said in a statement that Lebanon suffers from a crisis of governance and not government, adding that nothing remains from the state expect for its ruins.
He described the country as ink on a paper, noting that politicians need to save Lebanon and not sell it.
