BEIRUT, Lebanon

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch, Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, on Sunday called for internationalizing the Lebanese cause.

"There is no escape from the internationalization of the Lebanese issue after the failure of internal solutions," he said in his Sunday sermon.

"Those who fail in internal solutions are those who refuse internationalization, and when the internal solution is disrupted and internationalization is rejected, this means that these parties do not want any solution to the Lebanese issue," he added.

The Lebanese patriarch, however, did not name these parties.

On Thursday, Lebanese lawmakers failed for the ninth time to elect a new president to succeed President Michel Aoun, whose term ended on Oct. 31.

"How do the deputies judge themselves when they meet nine times and do not elect a president,” the patriarch asked. “This means that they do not want to elect a president or are not qualified to elect a president.”

Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing a crippling economic crisis that, according to the World Bank, is one of the worst the world has seen in modern times.

The country has also been without a fully functioning government since May, with Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Cabinet having limited powers in their current caretaker status.

* Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report