Lebanese cardinal urges politicians to put aside their differences

Published: 2006-10-12

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Lebanon's Maronite Catholic leader has called on the country's politicians to put aside their differences to confront "the new situation facing us" after this summer's conflict with Israel. Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir, Maronite patriarch, called on Lebanon's divided political factions to "turn the page with regard to the past." He said, "No one can escape from his responsibilities, especially those who have been placed by the people in positions of responsibility." Speaking during his homily Oct. 8 at a Mass in Bkerke, just north of Beirut, the patriarch reacted to criticism of the Maronite bishops for becoming involved in an increasingly acrimonious dispute over the need for a national unity government to replace the current administration led by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. In his sermon, the cardinal said Lebanon's political stability was crucial for several reasons.

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