CWN - The head of the Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See, has called upon Lebanon’s Christian political parties to stop bickering and elect a president.

For decades, Lebanon’s president has been Christian, and its prime minister has been Muslim; thus the Lebanese president is the only Christian head of state in the Middle East. Lebanon has been without a president since March, and amid the impasse, there are growing calls for a dilution of Christian political influence.

“Only a Christian president can ensure Muslim and Christian coexistence and perpetuate the model of power-sharing that characterizes Lebanon in the Arab context,” said Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, according to a Fides report.

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