Lebanon's bishops express concern over increasing tensions

Published: 2006-11-02

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Lebanon's Maronite Catholic bishops expressed concern about increasing tensions in the country after calls by the Shiite Muslim organization Hezbollah and pro-Syrian factions for the formation of a national unity government. In a statement released Nov. 1 after their monthly meeting outside Beirut, the bishops also aired their fears about the friction created by the pending formation of an international tribunal to try the assassins of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was murdered in February 2005. The bishops expressed sorrow for "the division over the international court" and "the national unity government." "The bishops strongly regret the chaos prevailing over the Lebanese political arena, which has divided the Lebanese into opposite groups that don't know what they want," they said, reiterating previous statements that "the Lebanese should put the country's interests above personal ones in order to find the adequate solutions to these problems."

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