A visit to Jerusalem by the patriarch of the Leba**n-based Maronite church to greet Pope Francis would be a "historic sin", a leading newspaper close to the anti-Israeli Hezbollah said Saturday. Patriarch Beshara Rai, whose church is the largest Christian de**mination in Leba**n, told AFP on Friday he would travel to the Holy Land to welcome the pontiff during his brief May 24-26 visit. In doing so, he would be the first patriarch to do so since the creation in 1948 of Israel, with which Leba**n is technically at war. In response, the leading Arab nationalist daily As-Safir ran a critical piece headlined "Historic sin: Rai goes to Israel".