Obsequies for Pierre Gemayel in Beirut

The funeral rites for Pierre Amin Gemayel were performed this morning at the Cathedral of St George in Beirut, with his Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites and Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, celebrating the requiem Mass.  The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the New York Sun reported the solemn events as some 800,000 people gathered in the Lebanese capital to mourn the slain minister and to protest against Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs.  La Croix notes that a message from the Pope was read to the assembled congregation, in which the Sovereign Pontiff denounced M. Gemayel's assassination and called for "the construction of an autonomous and always more fraternal Lebanon, in which the active participation of all its component communities is assured."  Le Figaro has an excellent photogallery here, and video of the scenes in Beirut.