BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Sunday the Maronite Patriarchate is committed to making Lebanon a democratic country open to the East and the West, supporting a dialogue between various cultures and religions. Citing Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Guidance on Lebanon, Rai said in his Sunday’s Mass at his seat in Bkirki, north of Beirut: “The Maronite Patriarchate is committed to making Lebanon a plural, open and neutral country not involved in regional and international alliances and committed to issues of peace, justice and common coexistence, a democratic country open to the East and the West, [supporting] a dialogue between cultures and religions and rejecting to be a land of iron and fire.”

“The [Maronite] Church is committed to Lebanon’s mission for which the Apostolic Guidance is calling, which is to boost the Christian-Muslim dialogue, strengthen [sectarian] coexistence, build the society on the basis of peace and reconciliation, and work to change mentalities in order to foster brethren and solidarity,” Rai said.

He said Lebanon’s mission called for solidarity with the Arab world as “an inevitable matter complementary to dialogue and cooperation between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon.”

“Lebanon is an indivisible part of the Arab world. There is one fate that unites Christians and Muslims in Lebanon and the region’s countries. There is one Arab culture to which the Christians of Lebanon and Arab countries have greatly contributed,” Rai said.

Referring to the country’s worsening economic crisis, Rai urged the government to maintain Lebanon’s economic growth, saying this was the cornerstone of the Lebanese entity. He urged rival political leaders to end their feuding in order to serve the economy.

Rai also said last week’s Cabinet approval of a wage hike deal between the private sector and the General Labor Confederation should be followed up by an economic development plan to shore up the national economy.