Syriac Maronite Patriarch Mor Bechara Urges Justice Ahead of Beirut Blast Anniversary

BETH KERKE (BKERKI), Lebanon — On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Beirut port explosion — one of the most devastating peacetime urban disasters since Hiroshima — Syriac-Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai used his Sunday sermon to deliver an unflinching call for justice, unity, and national reckoning. Speaking from the patriarchal seat in Beth Kerke (Bkerki), the spiritual leader of Lebanon’s largest Christian denomination urged the Lebanese judiciary to fulfill its mandate in the long-stalled investigation into the 2020 blast that killed over 220 people, wounded thousands, and left large parts of the capital in ruins. 

“We pray for the souls of the victims and stand with their families,” the patriarch said. “We call on Judge Tarek Bitar to continue his work with courage and independence to uncover the truth and deliver justice.” 

Judge Bitar’s probe has faced repeated political obstruction and legal challenges since its inception, particularly from powerful factions within Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system. Patriarch Mor Bechara Raï implicitly addressed this reality, declaring that only “an independent judiciary, above all, can rescue Lebanon’s soul.” 

The blast — caused by the ignition of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored for years in the port without proper safety measures — became a symbol of the deep corruption and mismanagement that have hollowed out Lebanon’s state institutions. For many Lebanese, the lack of accountability over the past five years has only deepened a sense of national disillusionment. 

Yet the patriarch used the anniversary not only to press for justice but also to reflect on the broader trajectory of a country he described as losing touch with its founding values. 

“Lebanon is built on pluralism, freedom, and dialogue between cultures and religions,” he said. “But are we still faithful to our identity? Do we carry our mission with courage?” 

It was a pointed challenge in a country where sectarian fragmentation and political paralysis have eroded public trust, driven mass emigration, especially among the Christian population, and crippled reforms amid economic collapse. 

Appealing both to the political elite and ordinary citizens, Raï called for a collective renewal of purpose:  

“We must rebuild a state governed by law, not by power. A state that offers opportunity to its youth, that speaks with one voice in defense of the common good.” 

On a more spiritual note, he urged the Lebanese to become “voices of truth, makers of reconciliation, builders of justice.” Citizenship, he reminded his congregation, should not be measured in sects or numbers — but in equality. 

“The citizen is not majority or minority,” he said. “The citizen is simply a human being, equal in dignity and in rights.” 

As Lebanon marks yet another painful anniversary with no justice in sight, the Syriac Maronite Patriarch’s words served both as a moral indictment and a summons — to remember not only what was lost in the blast, but what must be rebuilt in its aftermath.