Lebanese cardinal decries attacks he calls “devoid of humanity”

Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Rai expressed “profound sorrow” over the “devastating toll” of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, the country’s state news agency NNA reported 22 September.

In his Sunday homily 22 September, he said the “unprecedented” attacks are “devoid of humanity.”

NNA reported that Israeli aircraft carried out a total of 111 airstrikes on southern Lebanon in one hour the morning of 21 September, with the Israeli army saying it hit about 180 Hezbollah targets. CNN reported that the number of airstrikes “is among the highest recorded since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel last year” in support of Hamas amid the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza.

Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets early 22 September across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel. The sides appeared to be spiralling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions, The Associated Press reported 22 September.

NNA reported that Cardinal Rai called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene and “put an end to the ongoing conflict.”

“In war, everyone is a loser; the only winners are arms dealers,” the patriarch said.

The death toll from a “targeted attack” by the Israeli military on a Beirut suburb 20 September rose to 37, including seven women and three children, Lebanon’s health minister said on 21 September. This comes as the US also urged Americans in Lebanon to leave the country.

The weekend attacks followed a wave of explosions of hand-held devices 17-18 September across Lebanon and in the capital, Beirut, apparently targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

During his homily, Cardinal Rai expressed “deep concern” about Lebanon’s shifting political landscape, noting that the nation has moved from a state of “unique pluralism” to one characterised by “singularity and division,” according to the NNA news agency. He warned that this troubling trend can only be reversed when the Lebanese people embrace a “new path forward,” one that fosters hope and lays the groundwork for “a new historical narrative.”

He urged Lebanese politicians to establish “a stable and independent Lebanese state, capable of overcoming internal divisions and healing the scars of war.”

He stated that this goal “can only be achieved through the election of a president who will restore legislative powers to Parliament and uphold the constitutional authority of the Council of Ministers,” NNA reported 22 September.

Following his Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis reiterated his “tireless call for prayers for peace,” Vatican News said.

“Brothers and sisters, let us continue to pray for peace. Unfortunately, tensions are very high on the war fronts,” he said, appealing to all people of goodwill not to forget the suffering in “so many countries at war.” “May the voices of the peoples asking for peace be heard,” he prayed.