Sfeir calls on politicians to end “adventures”
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir blamed local politicians for the numerous “adventures” they have been embarking the Lebanese on in his Sunday sermon at Notre Dame Church in Bkirki. “Some of us have been hungry for bread since the country has been going through a depression” the prelate said.
He then asked how many people, nowadays, “worship” someone other than God, referring to the cult of political figures in Lebanon. Sfeir ended his sermon by demanding an end to these “adventures.”
Following the Mass, Sfeir received a number of social and religious figures from around the country. He also met with a delegation of Civil Defense volunteers who have been working for seven years within the Civil Defense without being considered permanent employees by the directorate.
“We ask of the government to recognize you, as you sacrifice your lives in order to help people … and represent an essential element for the country in these hard times” Sfeir told the delegation, assuring his guests that he will be talking about this problem to the specific authorities.
In separate events, the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, gave a speech celebrating women for International Women”s Day, celebrated on Sunday. He invited women to “attain [their] position as perfect mothers, righteous sisters and good daughters.”
Qabalan also stressed the importance for women to get the right education and jobs in the “right environment … so she can help men reinforce the society.” In addition, he stressed the importance for women to raise sons who would eventually become the “pillars of a healthy society.”
He also denounced exploitation of the female figure as “advertising material making her lose her chastity and purity.”
“On this day, women should go back to those who preceded them and learn from them… in order to become examples of chastity, purity, patience, sacrifice and honor” he said.
Qabalan asked all Lebanese mothers to teach their children the love of their country as well as openness to others, so that “Lebanon can remain the country of togetherness and national unity.”