NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, on Tuesday welcomed participants at the beginning of a meeting with religious leaders and parliamentary bloc heads, along with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in Bkerki.

Al-Rahi highlighted the importance of this "Lebanese family meeting for dialogue, allowing everyone to listen to one another, especially during these challenging times." He expressed hope that "the visit of the Vatican Secretary of State would bring peace and end the war."

"The Vatican provides us with the hope we need, as we are people of hope and faith,” Al-Rahi emphasized.

Cardinal Parolin also delivered a speech, expressing his wish "to find solutions for Lebanon and its suffering people."

Cardinal Parolin stressed that "the Lebanese model must be preserved in this region that is witnessing more than one conflict," and he hoped "for everyone's cooperation to reach a way out of the crisis and find solutions that bring hope to Lebanon and its people."

=====================R.H., L.Y