Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of Maronite Catholics, welcomed the election of a new Lebanese president, ending a two-and-a-half-year power vacuum that had crippled the country’s government institutions. The cardinal also expressed his hope for the acceleration of a unified government and “direct action to save Lebanon from political, economic and social suffering.” He urged newly elected President Michel Aoun and other politicians to heed the words of the apostle Paul, to forget what lies behind and to forge ahead to the future. Under Lebanon's power-sharing system, the presidential post is reserved for a Maronite Catholic. Aoun, 81, elected on Oct. 31, is the only Christian head of state in the Arab world. Aoun’s election follows 45 successive failed attempts by the legislators to elect a president since the term of former President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014, a reflection of the sectarian power struggle that defines the country’s political arena.
Finally a President Is Elected in Lebanon
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
A Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Father Terrance Klein
Rome is organizing security, hydration stations, portable bathrooms, and giant water cannons to prepare for the influx of young pilgrims coming to celebrate the Jubilee.
The Scopes trial has long been depicted as a clash between modern science and religious fundamentalism. But it was also a chapter in the eugenic racism that had become a creed of social elites in the early 20th century.
Working at WFUV’s student-run newsroom has been formative for both of us, which has made these recent cuts from Congress especially painful.