Lebanon's cultural values: Maronite Patriarch's Easter message

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi stressed during Easter Mass in Bkerki that the Lebanese culture is reflected by being peacemakers, not warmongers, advocates for negotiation, not discord. 

He asked: "By what right do the rulers of states [...] invade homes, demolish them, kill their inhabitants, and displace their residents? How can we accept this killing and deliberate destruction in Gaza and its residents? Isn't what we see there a crime against humanity?"

Regarding Lebanon, he said that every effort must be made to prevent the country from being dragged into a war that affects the south and other areas. 

"Peace, which is essentially Lebanon's message, does not only mean the absence of war but also political peace that ensures public good, economic peace that provides a decent standard of living for citizens, and social peace that fosters national unity, living together with mutual respect and cooperation," he affirmed.