Al-Rahi ahead of Traveling to Rome: We Will Not Back Down from What Was Agreed upon at Bkirki Summit

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Sunday that Christians and Muslims in Lebanon share the same fate, “they either survive together or die together.”

He said before his trip to Rome where he will participate in the Middle East Synod: “We will not back down from what was agreed upon at the Bkirki summit.”

Last week, a Christian-Islamic summit that brought together Lebanon’s religious and spiritual leaders and representatives was held at Bkirki to assert national principles.

“The summit wanted to demonstrate to that Lebanese that Lebanon is a civil state, not a religious one, meaning that the country separates religion from the state,” he stated.

Addressing the Higher Islamic Shiite Council’s objections to some of points in the summit’s closing statements, al-Rahi said: “We were in complete agreement during the summit and the announcement of the statement.”

“As for what happened afterwards, I have no idea what changed,” he remarked.

The patriarch also called for speeding up the government formation process, saying: “We don’t understand the delay, but we know it will only increase the chaos and the citizens’ suffering.”

The Higher Islamic Shiite Council objected to the summit’s closing statement’s demand that the “Lebanese state liberate land occupied by Israel.”

It also objected to its position on the conflict with Israel, in that it called it a “Palestinian-Israeli” conflict instead of “Arab-Israeli” conflict.