Al-Rahi Says Officials Should Stop Booby-trapped Cars by Engaging in Dialogue

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi reiterated on Sunday that rival officials should engage in dialogue to confront the security dangers and political crises gripping the country.

He said in his Sunday sermon during mass he held in Bkirki that he “prayed for stability in Lebanon, which on the second day of New Year fell in grief over the Haret Hreik bombing.”

A suicide car bombing rocked the Haret Hreik district in Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday, leaving scores of casualties.

It came a week after a car bomb targeted former Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah in downtown Beirut, killing him and several others.

Al-Rahi said the bombings should move the conscience of officials to engage in dialogue and stop booby-trapped cars that are roaming our cities.

“Aren't there wise (people) who free themselves from their interests and react positively to the president's invitation for dialogue to resolve the political crisis?” he asked.

“Let the rival parties know that they are causing all the bombings,” he said.

“Aren't there wise (people) that would work together to prepare for the presidential elections to be held on time and to react positively to the prime minister-designate's (efforts) to form the appropriate cabinet?” he wondered.

The patriarch regretted that the criminal hands of Takfiris had targeted Lebanon's culture in the northern city of Tripoli.

He was referring to the torching of Greek Orthodox priest Father Ibrahim Sarrouj's historical library.

The attack on the decades-old library came after reports claimed that the priest had published an article deemed insulting to Islam.

However, Internal Security Forces commander in Tripoli General Bassam al-Ayoubi announced at a press conference that Sarrouj has “absolutely no links to the published article.”

Al-Saeh Library is considered one of the most renowned libraries in Tripoli and the second largest in Lebanon.

Sarrouj says the library contains more than 80,000 books.

“Is it because he is Christian that his library was torched?” al-Rahi wondered.

The patriarch reminded the faithful that the church calls for holding international agreements to spare humanity the dangers of armed conflicts.