Report: Pope Urged Christian Leaders to Unite, Elect President

Pope Francis has reportedly sent a letter to Christian Lebanese leaders appealing for unity to elect a new president and fill the vacuum at Baabda Palace.

As Safir daily on Monday quoted high-ranking sources as saying that the pope sent the letter to the unidentified Maronite officials around ten days ago.

He asked them to “unite for the sake of electing a Lebanese president,” said the sources.

As Safir also quoted high-ranking French diplomatic sources as saying that President Francois Hollande's visit to Beirut, which was scheduled to take place in October, has been postponed indefinitely.

“Hollande will not visit Lebanon before he makes sure that his trip would be beneficial and would result in a certain initiative that falls in favor of Lebanon and the Lebanese,” they said.

“The visit would not lead to fruitful political results amid political differences between Saudi Arabia and Iran,” the sources told the newspaper.

Lebanon's top Christian post has been vacant since the term of former President Michel Suleiman ended in May last year.

Differences between the rival March 8 and 14 factions have caused the vacuum.

Although the Vatican and French officials have on several occasions tried to mediate to resolve the presidential deadlock, no solution has been found yet.

“French-Vatican coordination on the Lebanese presidential file is currently frozen because France has other priorities,” said other sources.

Efforts exerted by Vatican officials to persuade Tehran into facilitating the election of a president have also been frozen, they added.

G.K.

D.A.