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Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. Cardinal Sfeir
is the Patriarch and leader of the Maronite Order.
Born 15 May 1920 in Raifoun-Kessrouane. Educated
in Ghazir and Beirut, completing tertiary training
in philosophy and theology in 1950. Ordained to
the priesthood, 1950. Appointed Patriarch of
Antioch and all the East, 27 April 1986. Speaks
Arabic, French, Syriac, Italian and English. He
has come to represent a de facto political leader
of the Maronites. Holding a position of authority
amongst his followers, respected by foreign
leaders and able to dialogue with them, he is a
natural focus for Lebanese dissatisfied with the
present situation.
Cardinal Sfeir has publically called for the
restitution of Lebanese sovereignty, the
withdrawal of occupying forces (the Syrians, the
Israelis in the south, and the Palestinian
militias). Sfeir is opposed to the present puppet
administration, controlled by Damascus, and
believes the future of Lebanon is to be found
through cooperation among the Lebanese, regardless
of sect or politics, working in pursuit of
national objectives, exclusive of supra-national
concerns. He has been critical of the prosecution
and imprisonment of Samir Geagea in the absence of
reciprocal prosecution of military figures of
other denominations. |
