Patriarch Rai says "national pact" to be issued soon in Bkerke

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai said on Tuesday that "a national pact" will be issued after the monthly meeting of the Council of Maronite Bishops scheduled for February 5th.

“The pact will focus on three fundamentals that include national principles, concerns and priorities,” Rai added.

He also noted that the pact will comprise of 10 pages, adding that articles of the pact were previously discussed with political leaders. He also expressed concerns over the latest developments in the country, describing them as “dangerous.”

He urged Christians to “play their expected role amid the ongoing developments in the region.”

Concerning the cabinet formation, Patriarch Rai urged politicians to facilitate the formation of an all-embracing government to spare the country vacuum at constitutional institutions.

The cabinet formation process reached a deadlock after Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun insisted that his bloc retain the Energy and Telecommunications Ministries. In addition to his rejection to the rotation of portfolios.

This as Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam, who was appointed in April, is holding onto the concept of “fair, balanced and comprehensive rotation of portfolios.”