We want to believe that the patriarch had no say or “interference” in the elections. However, we have to look for the reasons that led him not to interfere, when he considers that the people, “regardless of its divisions,” had asked him “to take care of its temporal needs and protect its rights.” Did the patriarch then disregard the people's request, or was it that he didn't expect what really took place and led to the “much regrettable” “criticism regarding the parliamentary elections?” Or is the reason the SSNP's ideology and reformist principle of the separation of Church and State, so that religious leaders would deal with the peoples spiritual needs while the temporal leaders take care of the government and the state, without colliding with the clergy in their temporal dealings?
Yes. How does the patriarch on the one hand say that he left the temporal issue of the elections to its masters and on the other hand say:
“The reality of the situation is that the Lebanese people regard the Maronite Patriarchate and its leader as their father and absolute representative. The people expect from the patriarch to preserve its rights. And if the patriarch doesn't accomplish this the people blame him, since he has always been their refuge in all matters.”
If His Beatitude acknowledges that he has been negligent of the trust that the people put in him, then he must also accept the fact that his interference in the peoples' temporal needs was misplaced. If His Beatitude also acknowledges that he didn't expect the sorrowful results that emerged, and, furthermore, also acknowledges that he is not so knowledgeable in political, social, and economic issues, then this acknowledgement would be interpreted by the Lebanese people as a disappointment regarding the Patriarchal seat and its holder. If His Beatitude doesn't acknowledge either this or that, then the best way for him is to acknowledge the SSNP's stance, so that the spiritual matters would not collide with the temporal issues and vice-versa.
If His Beatitude thinks that he can still bring in some sort of acceptance vis-à-vis these two diametrically opposed stances by saying that:
“We want to have all sides under our protection”
We would then answer by saying how ignorant is the patriarch's in his thinking that he can bring these two opposite ideas into a harmonious unison.
The Lebanese People and the Patriarchal Seat
The reality is that we were very easy on His Beatitude regarding some temporal issues because of the fact that he acknowledged the situation as “Status Quo.”
His Beatitude says:
“The people, regardless of its divisions, ask us and expects from us to take care of not only its spiritual needs, but its temporal issues too. We protect the people…”
However, in another place he states:
“The reality of the situation is that the Lebanese people regard the Maronite Patriarchate and its leader as their father and absolute representative. The people expect from the patriarch to preserve its rights. Etc…”
We don't think that when His Beatitude said “The Lebanese people, regardless of its divisions, expects from us,”that individuals from here and there were inciting the patriarch to interfere in some of the administrative issues for the benefit of these individuals, under the disguise of the general welfare.
We also don't think that His Beatitude considered these individuals “The Lebanese People,” since under no circumstance can the few be considered the whole “people regardless of their divisions.” This can be so only if logic and reality are left aside and His Beatitude wants us to believe that he was in the realm of theology when he made those declarations.
We want to assure His Beatitude that thousands of SSNP members in the Lebanese Republic do not adhere to him neither as a whole nor as individuals and do not accept that he represent their temporal issues. We also want to stress that we doubt it greatly that non-Maronite religious congregations in the Republic of Lebanon look at His Beatitude as a “father and absolute representative to care their general and private needs.”
If by “the Lebanese People especially” His Beatitude means the Maronites only then it becomes clear he creates a dichotomy by stating “The people, regardless of its divisions.”Furthermore, we also want to assure His Beatitude that Purely Lebanese SSNP members as well as many educated Maronites who have not yet had the time to enter the SSNP, would not consider themselves as inclusive of the patriarch's definition of “The People.”
