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His Holiness Pope Francis, Pope of the Catholic Church, said: “My Lebanese is suffering.”
Pope Francis indicated that the Maronite Patriarch in Lebanon, Bishara Al-Rai, asked him to add Beirut as a stopover during his trips to Iraq.
According to the US agency “Associated Press”, the Pope rejected the pastor’s invitation because it would appear that he was “throwing crumbs” to this country in light of the many problems it suffers.
The agency quoted Pope Francis as saying: “But I wrote him a letter and promised to go to Lebanon.”
Observers expected Lebanon to be the next destination for the Vatican Pope in the Middle East.
But the most likely papal visit later on is to Budapest, Hungary, with the possibility of the Pope visiting Bratislava in Slovakia.
The visit he promised to make is to Lebanon, but he did not specify a date for it, and one of the wishes that the Lebanese people dream of until it is fulfilled.
And the Pope of the Catholic Church, His Holiness, Pope Francis, left Iraq today, Monday, after a historic visit during which he traveled between Baghdad, Najaf and Erbil in 4 days.
Iraqi President Barham Salih said goodbye to the Supreme Pontiff at the Baghdad airport.
At the beginning of his visit, Pope Francis met with Iraqi President and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi in Baghdad last Friday.
The visit took the Pope from the Vatican to the city of Najaf on Saturday, where he met with Shiite cleric Ali al-Sistani, and then to Ur, the birthplace of the prophet Ibrahim in the southern province of Dhi Qar.
On Sunday, Pope Francis visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, where a mass was held in a stadium attended by more than 10,000 people.
Concluding his sermon at the Irbil Mass, the Pope called on the audience to work together, united for a prosperous future in peace for all without discrimination, adding: “Iraq will always remain with me and in my heart.”
