Sfeir Returns from Rome: Call for Electing New Patriarch Imminent

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Sunday noted that he had mentioned the reasons behind his resignation in a letter he had submitted to Pope Benedict XVI, adding that the pope has accepted the resignation.

"The call for electing a new patriarch will be made very soon," Sfeir told reporters at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport upon his return from the Vatican.

Sfeir denied remarks that he has already named his successor.

Asked about the ongoing efforts to form a new government in Lebanon, the patriarch said: "As has been the norm, all political parties would usually take part in the cabinet."

Asked whether he had any message to send to the March 14 camp, which held a broad meeting at the Bristol Hotel on Sunday to announce its official boycott of the new cabinet, Sfeir said: "They don't need a message from me to know what to do."

As to his stance on Sunday's youth demonstration which called for abolishing the sectarian regime in Lebanon, the patriarch told reporters: "I didn't know about the demonstration, do you want me to blindly support it?"

"This is their opinion and maybe others would have a different opinion," Sfeir added.