NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, presided this morning over Sunday Mass in the Church of Our Lady in Bkirki.

In his homily, the Patriarch criticized the Lebanese officials for failing to elect a president for the republic until now. He considered that if Lebanese officials had invoked the presence of God, each in their rank and position, they would have succeeded in electing a president.

"Our politicians are called to this pious practice that puts them in the presence of God, so they practice their political work as an art to serve the common good, from which the good of every citizen comes...Invoking God, before their deeds, words, and stances, removes them from their selfishness and personal interests, makes them prevail over differences, and adorns them with morality and sense of duty," the Patriarch said.

He added: "If they invoked God today, eight months after the presidential vacancy, and in the face of the complete collapse politically, economically, financially, and socially, they would rush towards understanding and agreeing to elect a president that Lebanon direly needs under the current circumstances."

Al-Rahi deemed that every step in this direction is very much blessed, away from the notion of victory and defeat between individuals or between the components of the same country. "This is a matter that leads to a serious rift in the life of the country, while what is required is the unity of Lebanon and its people and their goodness," he said.

Finally, the Patriarch called for praying to God Almighty "to place all those responsible before His presence, so that they act according to His will."

=========R.Sh.