Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi on Saturday said that the constitutional violations committed by the country's officials and the growing tensions in the region requires the fortification of the Lebanese State.

“We pray for politicians so that they would regain their inner peace so that they can be able to establish political peace,” al-Rahi hoped during his sermon at the mass concluding of the Synod of Maronite Bishops in Bkirki.

“How can all the disputes, bickering, wrangling, the hurtful words being traded, the blatant attack on people’s reputation and dignity as well as the invasion of their privacy through social media be explained other than it is the result of the lack of inner peace?” the Patriarch asked.

“What is still taking the government, which is also an organized social body, to act like the church so that it no longer violates the Constitution and laws?” he added.

In the closing statement of the Synod, Maronite bishops said that there are still a lot of things that the people is expecting from the government in order to build up trust in Lebanon, saying that they are aspiring to a sound and responsible political atmosphere that preserves the National Pact, coexistence and balanced partnership, as well as to corruption-free country.

Bishops called on political leaders to fulfill their duty in finding legal solutions to the financial crisis facing Catholic schools due to the salary scale law, stressing that any solution must safeguard the rights of both teachers and students.

The synod also urged leaders to reactivate subsidized housing loans, deeming such a move as fundamental and key to the revitalization of most economic sectors.

As for the Syrian refugee crisis, the Bishops expressed the need for unity, solidarity and coordination with the concerned parties, be it regional or international, so as to provide favorable conditions for the refugees to return to their homeland, and, therefore, lift this heavy burden off of Lebanon.