The prelates today urged that Christian President Emile Lahoud consult with Shiite Nabih Berri, president of Parliament, and the country’s political forces, to find a substitute for pro-Syrian Sunni Prime Minister Omar Karame, who resigned.
Karame’s resignation has not resolved the crisis that began Feb. 14 with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Street protests continue in the hope of forcing the withdrawal of 14,000 Syrian soldiers who entered the country during the 1975-90 civil war at the request of the Beirut government.
«We exhort the Executive and Parliament to rapidly form a neutral, interim government in charge of organizing legislative elections for the coming spring,» said the bishops, after meeting under the presidency of Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir.
«It is unacceptable to allow things to drag on and create a constitutional vacuum, as it would be a leap into the unknown which could lead to economic collapse,» they warned in a statement.
Around 40% of Lebanon’s 3.7 million are Christians, mostly Maronite-rite Catholics. The majority of the population is Muslim.
