President Michel Suleiman stated on Tuesday that the Lebanese will be among the people who will most miss Pope Benedict XVI in light of his decision to resign.

He saluted his “bold and wise decision”, comparing it to that of former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir who stepped down in 2011.

President Michel Suleiman is planning to travel to Rome on November 24 to attend the ceremony that would officially appoint Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi as a new cardinal in the Catholic church, As Safir daily reported on Monday.

The newspaper also said that Suleiman could meet with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to the Vatican.

Former Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Sunday that he doesn’t reject Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s remarks on Hizbullah’s arms and the situation in Syria, stressing that he is “not against” the head of the Maronite church.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3), Sfeir said: “We are with what he says and we are not against him.”

The opposition has described Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea’s words on Saturday as “brave” and a “March 14 speech par excellence.”

March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid told An Nahar daily on Sunday that through the presence of former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in the commemoration of the fallen members of the party, the “LF is now in the stage that characterizes the moral and political responsibility taken by the LF and the Maronite church to move Lebanon from civil war to civil peace in 1989.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hoped on Thursday that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi would succeed in uniting Maronite ranks in Lebanon.

He said after meeting with al-Rahi and former Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in Diman: “We hope that this step would be followed by a comprehensive and constructive national dialogue” that would include all parties in Lebanon.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea had reportedly backed Nassib Lahoud, Butros Harb and Charles Rizk “as a last resort” for the presidency.

According to a WikiLeaks cable dated November 8, 2007 published by al-Akhbar daily on Wednesday, Geagea told then U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that the candidates he backed for the presidency are Lahoud, Harb and Rizk “as a last resort.”

The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday urged politicians to cooperate and speed up the formation of a government that is capable of dealing with the demands of citizens.

Following their monthly meeting at Bkirki, the bishops stressed the need “to speed up the formation of a new cabinet capable of taking responsibility and dealing with the affairs of the nation and citizens.”

President Michel Suleiman held talks on Friday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and former Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir at the Baabda palace.

The president congratulated al-Rahi for his election, commending Sfeir’s tenure as patriarch for 25 years and awarding him the Order of the Cedars.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea condemned on Friday the abduction of the seven Estonian tourists earlier this week saying that it “tarnishes Lebanon’s image and it will gradually erode the state’s authority.”

Addressing the inauguration of Beshara al-Rahi as the new Maronite Patriarch, he stated that former Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir witnessed the end of Syria’s hegemony over Lebanon, as well as the end of the Lebanese civil war.

A ceremony to inaugurate Beshara al-Rahi as the 77th patriarch of the Maronite church was held Friday in Bkriki, in the presence of the country's top leaders and Arab and Western envoys.

President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker premier Saad Hariri and Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati participated in the ceremony.