BEIRUT: A 16-year-old boy who assaulted a Greek Catholic priest in Tripoli’s Al-Zahiriya neighborhood apologized to the cleric Tuesday in a reconciliation ceremony at the St. George Church. The boy, identified as Mohammad Fawwal, beat Abdullah Skaff earlier this week after the priest asked Fawwal and his friends to move away from and stop smoking near the church’s entrance. The reconciliation was headed by Greek Catholic Bishop George Baaqouni, who thanked Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and the Public Prosecutor of north Lebanon, Judge Omar Hamzeh, for their help in facilitating the reconciliation. Shortly after the Sunday incident, police arrested Fawwal on charges of assault. Skaff requested that all charges be dropped and Fawwal be released from jail.