NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, affirmed that “Lebanon will emerge from the rubble and return to being an independent, sovereign, free and neutral state.”

Rahi, who presided over Sunday Mass service, wished, “if the ruling group had realized the privacy and identity of Lebanon, it would not have taken the path of corruption.”

The Patriarch saluted the groups that “rebelled against the injustice of the de facto situation and the quota system, because the ruling authority, which was unable to secure the most basic necessities of life, declared its failure on its own.”

He pointed out that “the time has come to rationalize subsidy without touching mandatory reserves of the Central Bank, as the warehouses are full of food and medicine, and the Lebanese people are paying the price.”

“We understand the decision of friendly countries not to provide support without forming a salvation government,” Rahi added.

Finally, he renewed the call for an “international conference under the auspices of the United Nations to solve Lebanon’s problems and move towards neutrality.”

Source: National News Agency Lebanon