Lebanon's top Christian cleric urged Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri on Sunday to avoid back-door deals and to quickly form a new government that will start lifting the country out of financial crisis.
Veteran Sunni politician Hariri was named premier for a fourth time on Thursday, a year after huge protests against the ruling elite pushed him to quit.
In his weekly sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai congratulated Hariri and urged him to rebuild the devastated capital Beirut after the huge port blast in August that killed nearly 200 people.