Maronite General Council Dean, former Minister Wadih al-Khazen, visited today the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi.

Al-Khazen said after the meeting: ‘We were honored to meet with His Beatitude, Patriarch al-Rahi, to congratulate him on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year, hoping that it will bring about good omens and stability for Lebanon…We also touched on the difficult political and economic conditions that the country is going through, and we praised the Patriarch’s positions stemming from the core constants of the Maronite Church, which consecrates coexistence that denotes the first hypostasis in the concept of Lebanon.”

Al-Khazen went on: ‘There is no constitutional charter except by following this concept, which gives Lebanon its distinct civilized facet in its religious, cultural and democratic diversity that arose in an environment that embraces its historical specificities without prejudice to the responsibilities in sharing power and hierarchy in line with the Taif
Agreement…”

He finally stressed that “this renders it imperative to hold the presidential election as soon as possible and form a reliable, rescue government with exceptional powers to preserve the progress of state institutions and restore confidence in the country.’

Following his meeting with the Patriarch, al-Khazen then visited the Papal Embassy in Harissa, offering holiday season well-wishes to Ambassador Paolo Borgia.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon