Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi lashed out at politicians on Sunday, stressing that the Lebanese are suffering due to the vacuum at the Baabda Palace and the sharp rift between the political arch-foes.
“The acute dispute between the rival parties divided the country into two and obstructed the civil society,” al-Rahi said during his Easter sermon at Bkirki.
He pointed out that “one-third of the Lebanese became under the line of poverty, which is equal to the number of Syria refugees in Lebanon who need urgent aid.”
“We are facing enormous economic and social challenges,” al-Rahi said.
An estimated 1.18 million Syrians have fled their country's bloody conflict to take refuge in Lebanon, which has struggled to deal with the influx as the war enters its fifth year.
Al-Rahi called on World and Arab leaders to stop supporting mercenaries and fighters with money and weapons, urging them to find peaceful solutions to end the conflicts in the region.