Al-Rahi: Sfeir Struggled against Occupation, Hegemony, Lebanon Monopolization by a Group is Scorn against Us All

A ceremony to inaugurate Beshara al-Rahi as the 77th patriarch of the Maronite church was held Friday in Bkriki, in the presence of the country's top leaders and Arab and Western envoys.

President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker premier Saad Hariri and Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati participated in the ceremony.

Cabinet ministers, MPs, party leaders, diplomats, heads of the country's different sects and other dignitaries also attended the event which was followed by a dinner banquet thrown by al-Rahi in honor of a number of participants.

MTV reported that the banquet gathered Suleiman, Berri, Miqati and Hariri, in addition to 77 public figures and 17 members of al-Rahi's family.

A March 8 source has told The Daily Star that Miqati and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun were expected to meet on the sidelines of the dinner to try to end the rift over the interior ministry portfolio.

"Lebanon is the country of partnership, which is built on parity between Muslims and Christians," said al-Rahi after he was ordained by outgoing patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.

Al-Rahi's inauguration sermon carried an emotional message to Sfeir which highlighted the fact that he was the one who had ordained al-Rahi as a bishop in 1986 and the one who ordained him as a patriarch Friday.

Reminiscing the history of his predecessors, Al-Rahi said that "Sfeir struggled to liberate Lebanon from all occupations and hegemonies."

Addressing President Suleiman, the new patriarch said: "We ask God to guide your steps and my steps in service of the country and the church."

"The glory of Lebanon lies in its message, and it had been said in the past that the glory of Lebanon is given to the Maronite patriarch.

"The glory of Lebanon diminishes through isolationism and grows with openness towards the Orient and the world. Glory would rather be given to Lebanon and its people if we were all for the country," al-Rahi added.

He said that "through partnership and love," he would cooperate with the country's leaders – "Berri, Hariri and Miqati and all the ministers and MPs."

"The country is not for a sect, a party or a group and it shall not be monopolized, because the monopolization of Lebanon by a single group would represent scorn against us all," al-Rahi stressed.

As to the unrest sweeping the Arab region, the new patriarch said he was "worriedly following up on the events in our Arab countries."

"We express our regret over the deaths and injuries and pray for peace in those countries," he added.

"You may be wondering about my agenda for the coming days and you have expressed your expectations and concerns. My agenda represents a continuation of the history of my predecessors throughout 1,600 years," al-Rahi declared.

An Nahar daily reported Friday that al-Rahi decided to spend his weekend at one of the Maronite archdioceses and would later start a tour to other countries. Syria might be the new patriarch's first stop, the newspaper said.

It quoted him as telling his visitors that he would spend two days in each Lebanese region.

Asked if he would visit southern Lebanon, which is a Hizbullah stronghold, al-Rahi reportedly said: "I will not exclude any area."