Al-Rahi Heads to Vatican, Says he Blessed New Cabinet when Formation Decrees were Signed
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said Sunday that he gave his blessing to the new cabinet when President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati signed the decrees of its formation.
Before heading to the Vatican, al-Rahi said the government should meet the expectations of the Lebanese and its top priority should be to restore trust and unity among the people.
“This cabinet is made up of Lebanese and those Lebanese are responsible for what we need in Lebanon,” he said, hoping that the government would be allowed to function.
Asked by reporters at Rafik Hariri international airport about Speaker Nabih Berri’s decision to give up a Shiite seat in favor of the Sunnis to facilitate the cabinet formation process, the patriarchate said: “If this was the major obstacle that was preventing the formation of the government and if Speaker Berri solved it, then we thank him for it.”
About the latest fighting that erupted between Alawites and Sunnis in the northern port city of Tripoli, al-Rahi said: “We support security and peace among all peoples whether it was in the north, in Syria or any other country.”
Turning to drills that Israeli forces would hold on the border with Lebanon, the head of the Maronite church said he rejects violence and war. “States should respect the international legitimacy,” he said about international resolutions.
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