Maronite Bishops Urge Officials to 'Adhere to Constitution, Elect President'

The Maronite Bishops Council condemned on Wednesday the ongoing vacuum in the presidency, reiterating Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's call for officials to name their final presidential candidates.

The council urged after its monthly meeting “politicians to adhere to the constitution and head to parliament to elect a new head of state.”

The bishops expressed their concern over the vacuum, warning that Lebanon is on the verge of collapse.

Addressing the country's waste disposal crisis, they remarked: “Officials should differentiate between petty interests and the greater national good.”

“Political responsibility requires them to refrain from making excuses” over resolving the crisis, they added.

Commenting on the recent agreement between Iran and the West over Tehran's contentious nuclear program, they said: “It demonstrated the necessity of dialogue as demanded by Pope Francis I.”

They hoped that dialogue will pave the way to ending regional conflicts.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the election of a new head of state.

M.T.

G.K.