The Assyrian Democratic Organization
Beirut – cwnews — Maronite Catholic prelates called for national unity in Lebanon, and deplored excessive foreign influence in the country’s affairs, as they ended a monthly meeting on October 2.
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said that Lebanon needs a president “who can uplift the country, who will be agreed upon by all the Lebanese, and who knows how to unity the Lebanese people.” The election of such a leader, the Patriarch conceded, will not be easy “due to interference” by outside powers. Patriarch Sfeir has frequently criticized Syrian influence in Lebanon.
In a joint statement, the Maronite hierarchy also criticized foreign influence, expressing the concern that “there will come a time when the Lebanese will feel like outsiders in their own country.” Archbishop Bechara Rai of Jbeil sounded a slightly different theme, telling reporters that the country’s Christians are endangered by the power struggle between Sunni and Shiite Muslim factions.
He charged that Lebanon’s current government, headed by Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, is “taking Lebanon toward Islamization.”
