Vatican envoy in fresh bid to end vacuum in Lebanon
A special envoy of Pope Francis arrived in Beirut Friday in the Vatican’s latest attempt to resolve a political crisis that has left Lebanon without a president for more than a year, The Daily Star reports.
Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, the former foreign minister of the Holy See, met shortly after his arrival at the head of a Vatican delegation with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai in Bkirki to discuss the situation in Lebanon, particularly the yearlong presidential deadlock.
Mamberti is on a weeklong visit for talks with Lebanese officials on the conditions of Christians in Lebanon and the region and the work of Christian spiritual courts in Lebanon, the National News Agency reported.
In a statement at Beirut airport, Mamberti said he would meet a number of Lebanese political leaders to discuss internal Lebanese affairs, particularly the election of a president.
“The presidency issue concerns all parties in Lebanon,” he said. He added that his visit gained “special significance” with regard to the conditions of Christians in Lebanon and the region.
Lebanon Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the presidential stalemate as Parliament has failed since April last year to elect a president over a lack of quorum. Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a new Parliament session next Wednesday to elect a president.