Latest news with #Maronite
LBCI
4 days ago
- Health
- LBCI
Maronite Patriarch al-Rahi's health stable after brief hospital visit
The Maronite Patriarchate's media office announced that Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi is in stable condition after being briefly hospitalized for what was described as a minor intestinal discomfort. In an official statement, the office clarified that reports circulating on media and social platforms about a serious health issue were inaccurate. It explained that a mild digestive upset prompted the Patriarch's hospital visit due to sudden changes in weather between coastal and mountainous regions. The statement expressed gratitude for the public's concern and assured that medical tests and treatment were precautionary and routine, emphasizing that there is no cause for alarm.
L'Orient-Le Jour
5 days ago
- Health
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Maronite patriarch hospitalized, condition not serious
BEIRUT — The press office of the Maronite Patriarchate said Friday morning that Patriarch Bechara Rai is currently hospitalized for an "intestinal disorder," but that his condition is not serious, denying rumors circulating since the previous day that his health required "delicate monitoring." "The patriarch's condition is stable and he had to be hospitalized due to an intestinal disorder related to the difference in temperature between the coast and the mountains," the press office specified. Archbishop Rai is currently staying at the Patriarchate's summer residence in Dimane, in the mountains of northern Lebanon. "He is undergoing tests and is being treated in accordance with this health condition, nothing more and nothing less," the Patriarchate said. The 85-year-old Maronite patriarch had taken several weeks of rest in the spring after fracturing his hip in a fall during Easter Mass. He resumed his activities in the course of May.
L'Orient-Le Jour
6 days ago
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Barrack from Bkirki: The government must make clear on arms monopoly
BEIRUT — Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Lebanon and Syria, called Wednesday for a national dialogue in Lebanon to address the "complex issue" of the state's monopoly on arms. Speaking from Bkirki during his second visit to Lebanon in a month, Barrack stressed the urgency of reaching a consensus. "It's time to come together around a complex question. I came to offer advice. We have been working on this issue for four weeks. It is a complex process, and I understand the difficulties. President Trump wants Lebanon to succeed," Barrack said after meeting Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai. Barrack described the United States as an "honest broker" aiming to resolve disputes and said talks would continue with parties "still absent from the negotiating table." He promised to return to Lebanon to push the dialogue forward. He also praised the efforts of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. "The process is underway, but it is up to the government to decide on its priorities. A clear decision must be made and the law on the arms monopoly must be enforced to limit the possession of weapons and put an end to aggression," Barrack said. Advocating for "patience, to allow the dialogue to move forward without losses," he added: "Stability is important; without it, no one will come to help you." 'No new war' A day earlier, in an interview with Lebanese broadcaster al-Jadeed, Barrack sought to ease fears of another major military confrontation with Israel, despite a recent escalation in Israeli strikes and cross-border infiltrations in southern Lebanon. When asked by journalist Georges Salibi whether a new Israeli war could erupt if Hezbollah refuses to disarm, the U.S. envoy said the Lebanese "will certainly not face another Israeli war." He stressed that "no one wants war," adding that Israel also has no desire for further conflict. Barrack clarified that he does not engage directly with Hezbollah. "I address only the government and the three official presidents," he said, emphasizing that U.S.-led dialogue is limited to Lebanon's state institutions. Berri 'optimistic' After meeting Barrack on Tuesday, Parliament Speaker Berri told al-Modon newspaper he was "optimistic" about developments. "My optimism is due to his optimism. The meeting was excellent," he said, adding that the positive atmosphere helped ease the climate of fear that had prevailed in recent days. Berri declined to elaborate on the reasons for his optimism but dismissed reports of any "new agreement" with the U.S. envoy. Instead, he said there was an existing agreement between the two sides that they would "strive to implement," which he said would help end Israeli attacks. The debate over Hezbollah's disarmament has further polarized Lebanon's political scene as international pressure mounts on the issue following the Nov. 27, 2024, cease-fire that ended last fall's devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel. On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem reiterated the group would "not give up its strength" and was "ready to confront" Israel. Hezbollah has maintained that any dialogue on its weapons depends on an end to daily Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from five positions they still hold. Since the cease-fire, Israeli strikes and shootings have killed more than 270 people in Lebanon, mostly in the south and the Bekaa Valley.
Nahar Net
7 days ago
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Barrack meets Rahi, says everybody doing their best
by Naharnet Newsdesk 23 July 2025, 12:15 U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met Thursday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, after he met on Tuesday and Monday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Speaker Nabih Berri and a host of political, religious and financial figures. Barrack said in a statement from Bkerki that the situation in Lebanon is complicated but assured that "everyone is doing their best". He said that Speaker Berri is doing what he can despite the complexity of the situation. Berri for his part said his meeting with Barrack was "excellent" and that he is optimistic because he felt Barrack was. "This positive atmosphere helped relieve the fear that had prevailed over the past two days," Berri told al-Modon newspaper in remarks published Wednesday. Berri said there is no new agreement. "There is an existing (ceasefire) agreement that we are trying to implement to stop the (Israeli) aggression." Barrack's visit to Lebanon comes amid ongoing domestic and international pressure for Hezbollah to give up its remaining arsenal after a bruising war with Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement in November.
L'Orient-Le Jour
22-07-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Rai stance on expat vote isolates FPM on Christian scene
On Sunday, for the very first time, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai expressed a firm position on the issue of expatriate voting in the 2026 legislative elections.'Lebanese from the diaspora must be able to vote freely based on their original constituencies,' Rai said in his Sunday sermon, in the presence of President Joseph the 'exclusion' of the diaspora, the head of the Maronite Church openly called for the repeal of Article 112 of the 2017 electoral law, which grants expatriates the right to elect six members of Parliament in a special constituency created just for them. Context Rai: Diaspora voting for only 6 MPs instead of all 128 'form of exclusion' Less than a year before the elections, Rai appears to have aligned himself with those advocating for expatriates to vote for all 128 MPs. In doing so, he positioned...
