The two religious leaders of the two largest Christian communities in Lebanon expressed their anger at the political authority for its failure to find solutions to the existing crisis, amid stalemate surrounding the government file and the absence of any indications of a near solution to the deadlock.
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai described the stalling as a “crime”, while Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audeh said the politicians “think only about their interests, their future and their gains.”
“Officials must revive the negotiations to form the government, as the prevailing stalemate is unacceptable and has become a crime against the nation and the people,” al-Rai said in the Sunday Mass sermon.
He added: “We absolutely do not accept that the political community continues to crush the people and kill the homeland, and watch the national currency lose more than 85 percent of its value, while the Lebanese beg in the streets with the crazy rise of prices.”
“We absolutely do not accept that the border crossings remain an international hub for smuggling, and the airport and the port a route for squandering, while corruption continues in the electricity market and Lebanon enters an era of darkness…” the patriarch stated.
For his part, Archbishop Audeh asked: “Has politics become a business seeking profits and benefits instead of service?”
“It is truly shameful for our country to be in this dire situation, while we are not seeing any single rescue step or a meeting between officials in order to discuss the situation and come up with solutions,” he remarked.
He stressed that the caretaker government was not only unable to manage the country, but even to stop the collapse.
“For months, we have not seen a real will to form a government that tries to take quick measures to put the country on the path of salvation,” he underlined.
