Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi met on Monday before a Hezbollah delegation led by Sheikh Mohammad Amr in Jbeil

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Monday before a Hezbollah delegation led by Sheikh Mohammad Amro the need to establish a democratic civil state in Lebanon that separates between religion and politics.

“The state must separate between religion and politics … but not separate politics from God,” the Patriarch said adding that Muslims and Christians would be able to cooperate in establishing this state.

Al-Rahi hoped that the new year would bring all the good and blessings. “I hope that we adhere to living the divine values that we build upon our daily lives,” he said.

For its part, the Hezbollah delegation hoped that the Lebanese leadership “would adopt logic in its political activity and refrain from meddling in others’ affairs.” “Lebanon cannot support any political, security, or military instability,” it warned.

“Lebanon is a message to the world, which it should maintain through dialogue and reason and not any other method,” the delegation indicated.