Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir
Posted on 05/06/2008 4:24:20 PM PDT by NYer
Cardinal Nasrallah Peter Sfeir
BEIRUT (AFP) — Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, from whose Maronite community Lebanese presidents are drawn, left on Sunday for the United States, for talks due to focus on Lebanon's protracted presidential vacuum.
Sfeir will hold talks with President George W. Bush on May 22 after a stop in New York to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the Maronite church said.
Sfeir said ahead of the visit he hoped Washington could contribute to efforts to ease the political crisis in Lebanon, which has been without a president since November amid wrangling between feuding leaders.
"The American officials know about the situation in Lebanon. If they can contribute to promoting the security that we want in our country, their efforts will be welcome", Sfeir said.
Lebanon's Western-backed ruling coalition and the opposition, supported by Iran and Syria, are deadlocked over power-sharing in the country. The crisis has prevented the election of a new president.
The cardinal has repeatedly urged the two camps to resolve the crisis -- the worst to have hit Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war -- by electing a president in order to avoid chaos in the divided country.
Sfeir, 88, begins his visit in Qatar where he will say mass on Sunday at Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic church -- the first church in the Muslim Gulf state which opened only in March.
On Tuesday, the cleric embarks on an eight-day visit to South Africa before flying to the United States.
He wraps up his tour in Spain where he is due to meet King Juan Carlos on May 23 before returning home three days later.
Heads up - we'll keep an eye on Rocco Palmo's blog for some insider views as the Patriarch's tour of the US begins.
I had no idea he had already been blessed with so long a life. He deserves our prayers!
Indeed, he does deserve our prayers. The last time he came to the US - war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah which was holed up in southern Lebanon. In the process, Beirut Airport was shelled and closed. In order to return, the US military assisted him. I downloaded a photo of the Patriarch, still wearing ear mufflers, emerging from a helicopter. Wish I could post it. Cardinal Sfeir is a truly remarkable and holy priest. Following the death of JPII, the Church celebrated 9 days of mourning during which various groups within the Church celebrated Mass in his memory. Cardinal Sfeir was chosen to celebrate the Maronite Divine Liturgy at the Vatican, on behalf of all the 21 Eastern Catholic Churches. It attracted very little media attention but was a beautiful liturgy. He and the pope were very close friends.
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