His Beatitude Cardinal Marbeshara Boutros Al-Rahi of Jordan sent a message to Lebanese officials, in which he said, “You cannot continue what you are doing in Lebanon. You have no right to destroy a civil and cultural homeland. You have no right not to elect a president of the republic, and to impoverish and displace the people. You have no right to sleep comfortably, and the dollar has passed £41,000, but you must realize that politics is an honorable art to serve the public good.
Al-Rahi’s words came in an interview with the Jordanian newspaper, “Al-Rai”, and he considered that Lebanon is going through a series of dilemmas, from the void in the presidency of the republic to the financial and economic crisis that has shifted the his youth, leading to his isolation from the world. He also said: “This is what I will talk about in my meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and I will also thank him for the Kingdom of Jordan’s support for Lebanon in its ordeal, especially after the August 4 port bombardment in terms of of sending aid and medicines”.
Al-Rahi affirmed his permanent call for the establishment of a Palestinian state for the return of Palestinian refugees to their land, expressing his regret, “because international politics works the other way around, and the international community is not with the cause Palestinian, and seems to be dispelling the dream.”
Al-Rahi said, “If the solution is not to establish a Palestinian state, then another solution must be found so that Palestinians can live with dignity.”
He expressed regret that politics prevented the Lebanese Christian from visiting the Holy Land, considering that “this land is dear to all of us because the whole history of salvation took place on it and because it originated our identity”.
The parish priest also received delegations from Caritas Jordan, the Pontifical Mission, the Hashemite Charitable Organization, the Italian Hospital and Jesuit Refugee Aid, and thanked them for what they are doing for Lebanon.
He also visited the city of Madaba, accompanied by the deputy of the city, Majdi Al-Yaqoub, head of the municipality and director general of the Ministry of Tourism, where the patriarch climbed Mount Nebo and then moved to the Church of San Capo di Giovanni Battista.
Instead, he met the Maronite Patriarch, Prince Hassan bin Talal, and discussed with him the historic and illustrious ties that bind Lebanon, Jordan and the Patriarchate with the Kingdom, and the importance of promoting dialogue between religions, especially in this stage.
Al-Rahi also invited the city of Salt to transform the Jordanian mosaic heritage into a lifestyle between religions and peoples, greeting Jordan, recalling that the Lebanese constitution is the constitution of coexistence, and the constitution of pluralism and cultural cooperation and religion between Muslims and Christians in the country’s political and administrative affairs, and this is something that exists between our people and our society, but is missing among politicians who always work to divide.
Similarly, the Patriarch presented the foundations of cooperation in the field of religious tourism with the Jordanian Minister of Tourism, Nayef Al-Fayez, who briefed him on the start of work on the Christian pilgrimage route from Mount Nabo to the site of the Baptismo.
