Lebanon Gets New Maronite Patriarch

In addition to the new and very young Patriarch to replace the outgoing Old Liberal, papabile, ++Lubomyr Husar in the Ukraine, the Maronites are getting a new Patriarch too [their 77th] who is going to probably continue the increasingly understated presence of the Patriarchate in party poltics, says Phalange Party official, to represent almost a million Maronite Catholics, who are an ancient Arabic lineage in Union with the Holy See of Rome and always have been.

Following the 2005 elections, the rivalry between the two-biggest Christian blocs in the Lebanese Parliament led to the FPM distancing themselves from the church leadership at Bkirki over Sfeir’s stances regarding Lebanon’s political disputes.

“Rai’s election is a great achievement for Lebanon … and he has a strong relationship with everyone in the country,” said Abi Ramia.

The election of Rai has led to uncertainty within the country as to how the policies of the church’s leadership will respond to the country’s major issues.

“Bkirki should be completely removed from the competition between political parties, which drag the church into routine conflicts resulting from the rivalry of parties to attract electoral votes,” Abi Ramia added.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=126340#ixzz1Hcf8oBzX
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

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