Al-Rahi: Lebanon Mustn't be Missile Launchpad, Enemy of Its Neighborhood

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday stressed that Lebanon “must not remain to be a missile launchpad” nor “an enemy of its neighborhood.”

“We want Lebanon to be a point of convergence between civilizations, but the weakness of national immunity has deviated its message. However, we are struggling together so that it does not remain to be a fighting front and a missile launchpad,” al-Rahi said in his St. Maron’s Day sermon, during a mass attended by President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

The patriarch also emphasized that Lebanon “was not founded to become an enemy of its neighborhood.”

Moreover, al-Rahi added that, along with the Lebanese people, he is looking forward to five priorities: holding the parliamentary and presidential votes on time; unveiling the truth of the Beirut port blast; expediting the reform process and agreeing with the IMF on a rescue plan; completing the implementation of the Taef Accord and the U.N. resolutions; and adopting a system of positive neutrality in Lebanon’s foreign relations.