Cardinal urges Lebanese to consider nation when choosing president

Published: 2007-09-17

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- The head of Lebanon's Maronite Catholic Church called for politicians to adopt policies in the country's national interest when they pick the country's next president. "It is crucial that the most nationalist scenarios be adopted because it is Lebanon's interest rather than the interests of various presidential hopefuls that ought to be taken into consideration," said Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir during his Sept. 16 homily in Bkerke, the Lebanese headquarters of the Maronite church. "We all hope that warring Lebanese groups will start considering their country's interest rather than their own interests and reach an agreement about the identity of Lebanon's next president," he said. Returning to Lebanon Sept. 14 after an extended visit to the Vatican, Cardinal Sfeir said Pope Benedict XVI "expressed his great concern over what is happening in Lebanon" and "promised to exert every possible effort to help Lebanon regain normalcy." Lebanon's parliament is scheduled to convene Sept. 25 to choose a successor to President Emile Lahoud, whose extended mandate expires in November. Under the Lebanese Constitution, the presidential post is reserved for a Maronite Catholic.

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