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At the tail-end of his Stateside swing-through -- just one leg of his monthlong overseas tour -- the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir held talks yesterday with President Bush on the uncertain political situation in Lebanon: The U.S. President, according to An Nahar, told Sfeir that only Lebanon's armed forces should be responsible for keeping security in the country. Bush stressed that the U.S., along with other European countries, will help the army in this regard. Sfeir delivered to Bush the same memorandum that he had given to U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon and the permanent members of the...

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, MAY 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The election of president in Lebanon is a "top priority" for the country, the Maronite patriarch of Antioch told the U.N. Security Council at the beginning of his visit to the United States. Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir addressed the council Thursday, where he spoke of the various issues facing the nation. He also met with privately with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The cardinal's visit is part of a multi-continent trip he began May 4. His first stops included Qatar and South Africa. His scheduled stops in the United States include New York, Philadelphia, and Houston,...

A couple quick notes from these pages' core competence... Having just seen the Patriarch of the West (OK, the title's currently in abeyance, but still...), a spiritual father of the East is about to roll onto these shores. Next week, the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir begins a weeklong Stateside swing in New York, with subsequent stops in Philadelphia, Houston, and Washington; along the way, the 88 year-old head of the 9 million-member global fold will meet with both UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and (for the second time) President Bush. Among other highlights, Sfeir -- officially "the 76th...

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...

Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday put off a session to elect a new president until next month after the legislature failed to muster enough lawmakers because of a Hezbollah-led opposition boycott.The announcement was made by a parliamentary official in the chamber after the bell rang three times to call the lawmakers into session. Lawmakers from the pro-government majority were in the chamber for 30 minutes, but many opposition members, who gathered in the building, stayed in the hallways.The gathering in parliament was held under tight security after last week's assassination of a legislator from the majority.The postponement had been expected after...

BKIRKI: The Maronite Church signaled a significant shift from its resolute support for the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on Wednesday by calling for the creation of a "reconciliation government" inclusive of all national parties.The call by Lebanon's most influential Christian institution came in a statement issued after a meeting of the Council of Maronite Bishops headed by Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir at Bkirki.Politicians must do "whatever is necessary" to end the political deadlock and mounting threats to security, the statement said, stressing that the decision should not be construed as a withdrawal of support for the embattled...

BEIRUT, Lebanon, NOV. 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI pleaded for an "autonomous and ever more fraternal" Lebanon in a message read during the funeral of slain Christian politician Pierre Gemayel. In the message, read in French by a priest, the Pope said: "We are all harshly stricken by an unspeakable act" and asked "the Lord to receive in the dwelling of his Kingdom he who committed himself in public life to the service of his country and his Lebanese brothers." The Holy Father's words resounded during the funeral, presided over by Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites,...

BEIRUT: Criticizing what it called a divided national decision-making process, the Council of Maronite Bishops said Wednesday that "it is impossible to continue like this." "Decisions have to be taken by one leader, one leader represented by the government who has won the confidence of Parliament and is elected by the people, otherwise the country is doomed to suffer catastrophes," said Monsignor Youssef Tawq, spokesman for Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.In a statement released following an extraordinary meeting chaired by Sfeir in Bkirki, the council said the cease-fire in the Israeli-Lebanese conflict - which has destroyed much of Lebanon's infrastructure...

BEIRUT: Lebanon's top religious figures called on the international community to end its silence over the Israeli hostilities in the country. Vice president of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan called Monday for an international investigation into the Qana massacre.During an emergency meeting of the council Monday, Qabalan called for an immediate end of Israeli hostilities against Lebanon and urged all the Lebanese to unite and support the resistance.Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani met Monday with Iranian Ambassador Mahmoud Rida Shibani, who condemned the Qana massacre and the "international silence over the continuous Israeli hostilities."Earlier in the day,...

Lebanese Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir (L) steps out of a helicopter in the U.S embassy in Awkar, in north Beirut, July 20, 2006 as he returns from his visit to the U.S.. A tiny U.S. Marine force landed in Lebanon on Thursday to evacuate Americans stranded by a nine-day-old Israeli bombardment, which has killed more than 300 people but failed to stop Hizbollah rocket strikes on Israel. REUTERS/George Abdallah (LEBANON) BKIRKI: A newly returned Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir said Thursday that US officials are "concerned" about Lebanon and "eager" to end the violence under "reasonable and acceptable...

Wednesday, July 19, 2006; B03 In English and in Arabic, shedding tears and sweat, Washington's Lebanese Catholics prayed yesterday for peace in their homeland, filling a new white church at noon on a sweltering workday.Catholics are the largest Christian community in Lebanon, and the special Mass at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church was celebrated by Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir, considered one of the most influential leaders of the country's Christians. Nasrallah was in the United States this month when the violence began and spent his last day -- yesterday -- speaking about the holy nature of peacemaking."Are there no...

LAWRENCE - At Lawrence Municipal Airport, children and adults held flower bouquets and waved Lebanese flags as they waited for a very important person - Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir.Sfeir, head of the Maronite Church worldwide, was making a historic stop in Lawrence during a tour of the United States."It was like a piece of Lebanon coming to us," said Dalia Abourjeili, 16, of Methuen. The Methuen High School student attended with her mother, Hiam.Michelle Bou-Mitri, 20, also was at the airport. "I wanted to show him our hospitality and welcome. We look up to him as our spiritual leader,"...

Mar Nasrallah Pierre Cardinal Sfeir Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East Beirut (AsiaNews) –Syria might have pulled its army out of Lebanon, but it has left its secret services. It has “friends” in the country and anyone can draw his own conclusions from that, said Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir who answered US reporters’ questions in Chicago yesterday about developments following last year’s assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Syria’s withdrawal under international pressure.The cardinal, who is in the United States on a visit to local Maronite communities, reiterated his views about Hezbollah, namely that when...

LAWRENCE, Mass., July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- In his only stop in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, His Beatitude and Eminence Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, will pay an historic visit to St. Anthony's Maronite Church in Lawrence, MA July 12-14.The visit, part of an approximately month long tour of Maronite religious communities in the United States, marks the first time that Cardinal Sfeir has visited St. Anthony church in Lawrence, MA, and is only the fourth time that a Maronite patriarch has journeyed to the United States.Cardinal Sfeir will arrive at Lawrence Airport on the...

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir expressed his gratitude at being presented with the key to America's "gateway to the West" at St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis Thursday.The prelate led a service at the Cathedral in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the first Maronite bishopric in the US."Our meeting today confirms the Maronite Church is still active in this bright cathedral," he said. "I am glad to see your families' dreams growing and coming true through the generations." Sfeir also expressed his happiness to see that recent Lebanese and Middle Eastern expatriates have found...

Program about the ordination of only the second American born bishop in the history of the Maronite Catholic Church Sunday May 28, 2006 10:00 PM Tuesday May 30, 2006 2:00 PM Friday June 2, 2006 4:00 AM

The Maronite Patriarch, Nassrallah Cardinal Sfeir, made a strong appeal during mass in Bkerke, telling “all Maronites to start a fresh journey on the path of true spirituality based on reconciliation, tolerance and mutual forgiveness.”Referring to last week’s incidents that caused material damages and spiritual harm in various Maronite places of worship and convents in Beirut, Patriarch Sfeir said that those in charge of public security must guarantee maximum protection and exert extreme vigilance to prevent any new civil war that might undermine Lebanon’s mission, which is, as Pope John Paul II put it, to be a “message country” to...

Beirut (AsiaNews) – The Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir is fast becoming a point of reference not only for Christians but for the entire nation. This is increasingly felt as Lebanon lives through a difficult time, thanks to internal repercussions of the Mehlis report and debate surrounding the future of the President of the Republic Emile Lahoud. Yesterday, in his homily, the Patriarch once again underlined the need of a spiritual revival based on values of faith in the Eucharist, and he expressed concern about the current state of affairs: there is a prevalent “perplexity which has gripped the minds of...

Maronite bishops warn Syrian-tailored election law will disrupt fragile Christian-Muslim coexistence.  BEIRUT - Lebanon's Maronite bishops warned on Wednesday that a Syrian-tailored election law adopted for polls starting this month would disrupt the country's fragile Christian-Muslim coexistence. The law "violates... co-existence between Christians and Muslims and does not allow for fair elections", said a seven-point statement issued after a meeting called by Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir. "We call on all the Lebanese officials to act and prevent the harmful repercussions of this law," it said. The Lebanese government, under pressure from the international community, said elections for a 128-seat parliament will...

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The patriarch of the Maronite church, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir called for Lebanon's Hezbollah militia to disarm along with Syria's promised withdrawal from the country. Sfeir, who has become a leading figure in the Lebanese Christian opposition in addition to his religious duties, spoke after meeting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) here to discuss the evolving situation in Lebanon. "They were a group that fought to free southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation," Sfeir said of Hezbollah, which helped push Israel out of the country in 2000 after 22 years. "But now that has...

In their White House talks the two leaders reiterate the need for Syrian withdrawal. The Patriarch hopes international financial institutions will help Lebanon, expects international observers in the upcoming elections.Beirut (AsiaNews) – At the end of his meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nassrallah Sfeir, who came bearing the “hope for independence, sovereignty and freedom of all Lebanese, President George W. Bush said that the United States wants a free and democratic Lebanon and for this reason insists on the total withdrawal of the Syrian army and security services so that Lebanese can hold elections. “I assured His Eminence,” the President said,...

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said he has a deep desire to see Lebanon secure religious and political freedom as he welcomed a leading Lebanese Christian into the Oval Office on Wednesday. Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, head of the 900,000-member Maronite Catholic Church, has been a longtime critic of Syria's control in Lebanon. Bush said he assured Sfeir that the United States is working with allies to insist that Syria completely leave Lebanon so the country can hold free elections. "His eminence and I discussed, of course, Lebanon and our deep desire for Lebanon to be a...

Beirut (AsiaNews) – US President George W. Bush will receive Maronite Patriarch Nassrallah Sfeir at 1:40 pm today (GMT -5) in the White House. Sources close to the Patriarch told AsiaNews that the prelate will talk to the President about his country’s current crisis as well as the relevant facts that led to it: civil war and its causes, foreign involvement, the Taef Agreement and the failed planned Syrian pullout. He will also inform Mr Bush of what his country expects from the United States, namely help to regain its independence and sovereignty and support to take its place...

BEIRUT (AFP) - Syria took a further step toward ending its military presence in Lebanon as it began to dismantle its intelligence apparatus here in a move that drew a guarded welcome from the United States. The move came a day after close to a million people rallied in central Beirut in response to a call by the opposition to add punch to its call for a complete and expeditious Syrian military pullout. Prime Minister-designate Omar Karameh, a Syrian sympathizer, was meanwhile struggling to form a new government of national unity in the face of stiff demands from an energized...

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Maronite Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, a strong critic of Syria's control in Lebanon who left Monday for a meeting with President Bush (news - web sites), has emerged as a key opposition figure whose influence cuts across sectarian lines in this religiously diverse nation. The soft-spoken 84-year-old patriarch, head of the 900,000-member Maronite Catholic Church, began criticizing Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs when few dared challenge the authority of the pro-Syria government and its Syrian backers. His first major salvo came in September, months before Lebanon was thrust into the spotlight with the Feb. 14 assassination of former...

Beirut (AsiaNews) – As pro- and anti-Syrian factions engage in a power struggle, the Patriarch of the Maronite Church, Card Nassrallah Sfeir, warns the Lebanese against division.Tensions are in fact running high. Two rallies are scheduled for tomorrow—one pro- and one anti-Syrian—to coincide with the Lebanese National Assembly reconvening. The atmosphere is one of foreboding as the opposition tries to defeat Prime Minister Rachid Karame’s government for its pro-Syrian positions.Speaking during Sunday mass in Bkerke, Patriarch Sfeir cautioned his fellow Lebanese against the danger of “division which could lead the country to ruin”.Whilst repeating his demand that  Lebanon’s sovereignty be fully...

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – A “criminal gesture which offends God and men, [who are] created in His image and likeness,” said John Paul II about the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the Lebanese magnate turned politician, who died on February 14 in a car bomb attack in downtown Beirut.In the telegram of condolences sent by Card Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State of the Holy See, to the Patriarch of Antioch and the Maronites, Card Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, the Pope said he was “praying ardently for the beloved land of Lebanon” and called on “all the Catholic faithful of Lebanon to a...