Maronite Patriarch, Bechara Rahi, called on Saturday on the youth to make use of employment opportunities made available by the State, and to stay away from imitating politicians in the country.
He urged them to work to change from within, not only in terms of corruption but also in the course and intellect of the state and its policies.
"We respect the politicians, the authority, the president and the minister, but I invite you not to be tools for one nor to create hostilities with your partners at home, for this is what ruined our nation," the Patriarch underscored.
Rahi's words came during an encounter with around 300 young men and women held at "Our Lady of the Mountain" Church in Fatka, within the framework of preparations underway for the "Christian Synod for the Youth".
The Patriarch focused in his dialogue on identifying the challenges and opportunities facing young Lebanese men and women, from the political crisis and the threats to Christian presence in Lebanon and the East, to ways of reducing migration. The economic crisis, fighting corruption and unemployment and securing residential apartments through projects supported by Bkirki at well-considered prices also featured high in his talk with the youth, with the aim of strengthening Christian presence in the land through creating job opportunities and developing rural towns and villages.
Rahi also touched on the importance of strong faith and pastoral and apostolic work in its economic and spiritual dimensions.
On the Christian existence, Rahi addressed the attending youth saying, "The Church's strategy in this context is to preserve its institutions in spite of everything, in order to continue to provide jobs and security to the people with the possibility of investing in their lands."
"This is our homeland for which our ancestors have sacrificed their lives... It is our dignity, our identity, our history and our glory," he underlined.
"I am not an orphan. I am a son of a nation with a name, a role, a value and a message... and Lebanon, by virtue of its composition and the organized Christian-Muslim life, is the only country where Christians and Muslims live in equality before the law and participate in governance and administration. Lebanon is the only country with a democratic system, enjoying all the public freedoms, starting with freedom of religion, conscience, belief, parties and expression," the Patriarch went on.
Rahi concluded by saying, "We have to know how to separate policies from social life and not to mix things. Policies change and have their reasons and aspirations, but there exists a people, a civilization, a culture and a history, and we have to distinguish between them and not to mix matters."
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