Bkerki spokesperson says al-Rahi does not consider Hezbollah 'terrorist'

The official spokesman of the Maronite Church, Walid Ghayyad, stressed that “communication between Bkerké and Hezbollah is continuous”, following the latest outcry caused by the recent remarks of the Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

“If the patriarch had considered Hezbollah a terrorist, he would have stopped all communication with it because he does not talk to terrorists,” Ghayyad told al-Jadeed television.

“There is no intention to target Hezbollah or label it as terrorist, and the patriarch was not referring to Hezbollah or the resistance in the south,” Ghayyad added, noting that Bkerki appreciates “all the sacrifices” of Hezbollah fighters against Israel.

“The victories he won were legitimate and we salute all the martyrs who fall in the south,” Ghayyad continued.

He also revealed that foreign ambassadors had asked the patriarch to “describe Hezbollah as terrorist and he categorically rejected this, emphasizing that Hezbollah is a Lebanese party.”

Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad on Sunday called the clarifications made by Father Abdo Abou Kassm and MP Farid al-Khazen “positive steps”, but he called for “additional measures” and clarification from the of al-Rahi himself.

“Hezbollah sent a message to Bkerki that the resistance was very irritated by the position expressed and that what happened deeply hurt us,” Fayyad said.

“The term terrorism is a rhetoric of conflict and confrontation and a rhetoric of political disagreement,” the MP added.

Al-Rahi’s remarks prompted the deputy head of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, to boycott a spiritual and political summit in Bkirki attended by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

In his sermon at the Sunday Mass on June 23, al-Rahi called for “implementing UN resolutions, particularly resolution 1559 on the disarmament (of Hezbollah and Palestinian groups in Lebanon) and resolution 1701 which aims to maintain the neutrality of the South.”

He added that “Lebanon should no longer be a launching pad for terrorist actions that compromise the security and stability of the region.”