Maronite Patriarch Bechara Raï received Army Commander General Joseph Aoun at the patriarchal seat in Bkerki. Raï had also met with members of the "Strong Republic" bloc, MPs Ziad Hawat and Melhem Riachi, to discuss the issue of the murder of Pascal Suleiman.
On another note, Raï expressed his condolences to Suleiman's family and stated in a release from the media office of the patriarchal chair in Bkerki: "With great pain, I, like all loyal Lebanese, received the tragedy of the kidnapping and assassination of the dear Pascal Suleiman, the coordinator of the Lebanese Forces party in Jbeil district, within less than 24 hours (from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon last week)."
He added: "We all hoped he would be alive, as initially stated. But the bitter truth was otherwise. I turned to prayer for his soul's comfort and for the consolation of his grieving family, his companions in the Lebanese Forces party, led by Dr. Samir Geagea, the party's leader. In this delicate and politically, security, and socially tense situation, we call for restraint and self-control, asking the judiciary and security forces to do their necessary duty and impose the strictest penalties on the criminals, and we request from the media to refrain from issuing misleading interpretations and inflaming the fire of sedition."
He concluded: "His grieving wife has given the Lebanese a great lesson with her reaction: 'We are children of resurrection, children of hope.' She did not utter phrases of revenge or killing. May God protect Lebanon and its people from the wicked."
