Pope Leo XIV calls on Lebanese people to remain in their crisis-hit country and pursue reconciliation during his historic visit to Beirut
BEIRUT: Pope Leo XIV has urged Lebanese citizens to embrace reconciliation and remain in their crisis-hit homeland during his first overseas tour.
The pontiff called on Lebanon’s leaders to place themselves “with commitment and dedication at the service of your people” during a speech at the presidential palace.
He described his regional tour as bearing “a message of peace” and used the word “peace” more than twenty times in his address without mentioning specific conflicts.
“There are times when it is easier to flee, or simply more convenient to move elsewhere,” the pope told officials, diplomats and civil society representatives.
“It takes real courage and foresight to stay or return to one’s own country.”
Lebanon rolled out a 21-gun salute and red carpet welcome for the first American pope, with hundreds braving heavy rain to greet his motorcade.
The country has been ravaged by successive crises since 2019, including economic collapse and last year’s war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described safeguarding Lebanon’s unique model of coexistence as “a duty for humanity”.
“If this model disappears, nowhere else can replace it,” said the only Christian head of state in the Arab world.
Youth scouting groups affiliated with Hezbollah waited to welcome the pope in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the Iran-backed militants hold sway.
The group had earlier urged the pontiff to reject Israeli “injustice and aggression” against Lebanon.
Christians have seen their numbers dwindle in Lebanon despite playing a key political role in the country’s power-sharing system.
The pope’s four-day visit to Turkey focused on calls for greater unity among different branches of Christianity before his 48-hour Lebanese stopover.
Lebanon’s last papal visitor was Benedict XVI in 2012. – AFP
