Election in Lebanon: Bishops of Beirut "involving all the fronts"

Source: SIR

Working for the country, for the common good, in the attempt to involve, as far as possible, all the political fronts. This is the wish expressed by the Chaldean bishop of Beirut, mgr. Michel Kassarji, and by the Latin bishop, mgr. Paul Dahdah, as they commented with SIR yesterday’s election in Lebanon, which was won (71 seats out of 128) by the pro-Western alliance “14th March” of the Sunni leader Saad Hariri, defeating the pro-Syrian one (57 seats) led by Hezbollah that therefore remains in the opposition.

“The election marks the end of a period of tension in the country. Importantly, no serious accident has occurred this time – mgr. Kassarji says to SIR –, now the time has come to work together, Christians and Muslims, for Lebanon, to make it grow and thrive”. According to the Chaldean bishop, “the worst mistake one could make now would be to think problems are over”.
“The Christians in both fronts may act as a bridge to join all the political components together and make us aim at the common good without hesitations. Whoever goes to power must think of the whole country, not just one part of it, they must rule for everyone. Lebanon is more important than any faction”.

This opinion is shared by the Latin bishop of Beirut, mgr. Paul Dahdah, who warns: “hopefully the majority in power will take into account the coexistence of the other front, hopefully it will not work on its own, or another serious crisis might loom ahead”. “All the fronts should be involved to make sure Lebanon has a future with no external pressures and no internal divisions – he states to SIR –. The Christians’ division has harmed them, if they had been united they would have had a different weight. But now we have to roll up our sleeves”.