Patriarch repeats call for unity: “Brothers deal with each other”
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said Wednesday that many plans were being drawn up for Lebanon, and complained that some Lebanese were implementing them.
“This is unacceptable,” Sfeir told a delegation of Lebanese Forces members from Akkar. “We ask God to replace these days by peaceful ones and to guide us to the right path so all the Lebanese work hand in hand in an effort to recover our independent, free and peaceful Lebanon,” he added.
Sfeir also voiced hope that the Lebanese people strengthen their confidence in each other and in the country.
“We want a state of peace and not a state of war,” the prelate said. “We are brothers no matter what and brothers deal with each other with love and support.”
Also Wednesday, Sfeir continued to receive visitors who expressed solidarity with the patriarch following criticism of him by former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh last week.
During an interview last Wednesday, Franjieh, who heads the Marada Movement described Sfeir as an employee of the American and French diplomatic missions. Franjieh also urged the patriarch to resign.
Sfeir also met Wednesday with Italian Ambassador Gabriel Checchia to discuss the latest developments in the country and bilateral relations. No comments were released after the meeting.