Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi called on the Lebanese officials to rise above their personal interests and narrow calculations for the country's sake during Saturday mass.
Rahi, whose words came during Easter message in Bkerke, said: "We call on Lebanese politicians to rise above their personal interests and narrow calculations for the sake of the country and its people."
He also urged politicians to make necessary reforms and development at the economic and social levels.
"I call upon the officials to lift injustice, concerns, deprivation and hunger from the Lebanese people, who express their demands in strikes, demonstrations, sit-ins and burning tires that harm the citizens, the interests of the state and the reputation of Lebanon," he added.
Rahi criticized officials for replacing religious citizenship with a political citizenship.
"What we are witnessing today, unfortunately, is the replacement of religious citizenship with a political one, which is apparent in the ministries, public administrations, in addition partisan influence in the regions, and political interference in public administrations and appointments," he added.
In this context, Rahi called on all political counterparts to implement political reform for the sake of the country.
Referring to the austerity measures to be implemented by the state, Rahi said that "the state must collect its funds from its facilities, ports, taxes and fees, as well as to control smuggling and illegal imports."
Finally, the prelate called on the Lebanese Diapsora who offered to finance the reconstruction of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, to donate to the state treasury, in order to get Lebanon out of its financial crisis.
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