Lebanese Cardinal: PM's return home from Saudi essential

BEIRUT – The head of the Maronite Catholic community in Lebanon said Monday that the return of Prime Minister Saad Hariri back home from Saudi Arabia, where he recently announced his resignation, will restore normal life to the country that was shaken by his move.

Cardinal Bechara el-Rai told reporters before departing to Saudi Arabia that the Lebanese people have been "unsettled" since Hariri's resignation earlier this month, adding that he will raise the matter with the Saudi king and crown prince.

El-Rai had planned his two-day visit before Hariri announced his Nov. 4 resignation—in a pre-recorded statement broadcast from Riyadh—plunging Lebanon into crisis and leading to speculation that he was being held against his will.

El-Rai heads the Maronite sect, Lebanon's largest Christian community and the Middle East's largest Catholic church, which enjoys wide influence in the country. He said his visit is the first by a Maronite patriarch to the kingdom ever.