This morning, Benedict XVI received in audience the president of the Republic of Lebanon, Michel Sleiman, who then met the Secretary of State, cardinal Tarcisio Bertone: a meeting that was then joined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Fawzi Salloukh, and archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with the States. "During these friendly talks reports the Vatican Newsroom , the interest of the Holy See in Lebanon and its continued commitment to protecting its unique identity have been reasserted. Great appreciation has been expressed for the efforts that the country and its leaders are making, in the attempt to bring their institutional life back into the line of a normal political dialectics, where every component of the Lebanese people may make their contribution to the common good and see their concerns and expectations kept into due account. Finally, they lingered on the delicate situation of the region, wishing the Palestinian question may be quickly and fairly solved, and mentioning the conditions and the problems of the Christian communities in the Middle East".
