Rahi Urges Declaration of Lebanon as ‘Neutral Country,’ to Visit Iraq in November
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged on Monday the United Nations to declare Lebanon as a neutral country during his visit to the U.S., As Safir newspaper reported.
The patriarch noted that he means by it “the positive neutrality, whereby (Lebanon) isn’t subordinate to any country or regional or international axes.”
“However, it also means that we are still committed to the Arab and humanitarian causes,” a-Rahi said.
He described Islam in the region as “moderate.”
Al-Rahi said that he will begin a three-day visit to Iraq on November 1 for the annual memorial of the attacks that targeted the Our Lady of Salvation Church in 2010, adding that he will meet with spiritual and official figures to discuss the fate of Christians there.
Militants had stormed the church in central Baghdad, killing 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security force personnel in an attack claimed by al-Qaida's local affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq.
The Patriarch ends a pastoral visit to the U.S. on Monday after Washington cancelled his meetings with high-ranking officials, including U.S. President Barack Obama, due to controversial statements by al-Rahi in Paris.
He had told the international community that Syrian President Bashar Assad should have been given further time to implement reforms, warning that Sunni extremists could possibly take power if Assad’s regime collapses.
Al-Rahi also tied the disarmament of Hizbullah to the withdrawal of Israel from all Lebanese occupied territories.
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