Sfeir Reportedly to Have a Say in Election of New Patriarch Mid March
The oldest member of the Maronite bishops synod is expected to call for a conclave to elect a new patriarch within 15 days after Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Saturday.
An Nahar daily said Sunday that the synod would be held in Bkirki and could start with a three-day retreat and then followed by election sessions for 15 days.
The new patriarch should get the votes of at least two thirds of the bishops meaning 27 out of 39, An Nahar said. However, it believed two bishops would not attend the synod for health reasons, decreasing the number of votes the patriarch should get to 25.
The bishops synod would most probably be held 15-16 March and would be presided by 90-year-old Sfeir who has been patriarch since 1986, according to the newspaper.
Kuwait’s al-Rai daily said Sfeir would have a say in the bishops’ choice of the new patriarch who will be “someone close to him.”
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