Pope receives Sleiman at Vatican: Lebanese must hold on to dialogue

              
Pope Benedict XVI Friday reiterated his love for Lebanon, "the country of the cedars" which he had visited mid September, calling on the Lebanese to cling to dialogue in order to keep their homeland as a model for other countries in terms of stability, cultural ethnicity, and religious diversity.               

The Pope made these remarks during his meeting with President Michel Sleiman at the Vatican, whereby the latter praised the pontiff's unyielding support for Lebanon, and thanked him for having nominated the Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi as Cardinal of the Catholic Church.          

"This gesture is considered as a message of paternal appreciation not only for the Maronite community in Lebanon and the Orient, but for all the Lebanese people," Sleiman proudly said.              

Solid historic relations between Lebanon and the Vatican were tackled during the one-on-one, with "the visit of his Holiness to Lebanon" featuring high on the talks.                   

Maronite Patriarch Mar Beshara Boutros Rai will be appointed cardinal tomorrow Saturday during a solemn mass presided by Pope Benedict XVI at the St. Peter’s Cathedral in the Vatican. President Michel Slieman and a delegation of 1500 Lebanese figures will participate in the ceremony.           

Rai and Sleiman will meet as well at the Maronite school in Rome at 2:30 pm.


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