NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rahi, received this morning following Sunday Mass in Bkirki the head of the "Maronites for Lebanon" assembly, lawyer Paul Youssef Kanaan, where talks centered on the present situation.

On emerging, Kanaan confirmed that Patriarch al-Rahi's visit to France was for the sake of Lebanon, and to draw attention to the imminent dangers in light of the prevailing economic and financial crisis, the displacement crisis, and the need for the international community to take the initiative to help Lebanon get out of its crises and not abandon it.

He added, "Our Father, the Patriarch, takes the initiative, through the bishops, archbishops, and through his contacts, to achieve the common Lebanese concern based on building bridges of communication to embrace everyone."

Kanaan stressed that "Bkirki does not move with anyone against another, neither locally nor internationally, and for this reason it has sent out a call for the sake of Lebanon."

In response to a question, Kanaan considered that Christians, with their leaders and deputies, must be aware that the national interest is above all personal interests, for if the entity is lost, everyone loses. 

"Therefore, Bkirki does not despair, and moves, alerts, warns, and corrects where possible, and the leaders must hear the patriarchal edifice and act according to its directives," he concluded.

=========R.Sh.