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Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin arrived in Lebanon to show solidarity with Beirut and its Christian families and all Lebanese citizens after the tragic explosion that hit the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, to commemorate victims and pray for the rapid reconstruction of the city and the homeland.
Upon his arrival, Cardinal Parolin, accompanied by Papal Ambassador Joseph Spitry, visited the Maronite Cathedral of St. George in Beirut, where he was received by the Maronite Archbishop of Beirut, Bishop Paul Abdel Sater, the Roman Catholic Metropolitan of Beirut, George Baconi, the bishop of the Latin Church Monsignor Cesar Asayan, the Armenian Catholic bishop Mons. George Asadur The Orthodox George Saliba, the Syriac Catholic Archbishop Matthias Murad and several priests and nuns informed Cardinal Parolin about the damage to the cathedral and raised prayers for the intention of the city and the victims of the explosion.
After that, Cardinal Parolin and the accompanying delegation moved to the Archdiocese hall and held a meeting in the presence of the owners of sovereignty and the owners of eminence and virtue, namely: Sheikh Muhammad Anis Al- Arwadi, Director General of the Islamic Endowments, representing the Mufti of the Republic, the Mufti of Tire, and President Amel Sheikh Hassan Abdullah representing the Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Sami Abu Al-Muna, representing the Sheikh Akl of the Druze community, Naim Hassan, and the metropolitans: Paul Abdel Sater, George Bacouni, Michel Kassarji, Matthias Murad, George Asadurian, Cesar Asayan, Daniel Corriere, Megardish Krakordian, Metropolitan Silwan Mousian, the priest, Shahi Saliba, Habib Badr, General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches, Soraya Bashaalani, and representatives of the Red Cross, Caritas, the Adyan Foundation and the Association for Dialogue for Life and the Future.
Monsignor Abdel Sater gave the following speech: “With the joy of the Risen One with Christ and the painful hope of the believer, we welcome you tonight in the Maronite Cathedral of Saint George, who was injured and in pain, witnessing his mutilated children fly in the air as a result of the explosion of the criminal August 4.
Your presence among us means that the Church in the world with all its members, headed by Pope Francis, loves us and supports us with prayer and acts of solidarity.
We hope that you will inform His Holiness the Pope that the Church in Lebanon, with all its suffering and even dying children, will continue to pray where there is no hope and will begin again to remain a symbol of Christ’s love for each person.
Your Eminence, here are the priests of the neighboring parishes who saw their churches crumble before their eyes and their children die and shed their blood. Since August 4 they have been on the streets with their people, treating and comforting them. Take the shovel, hammer and saw to fix what can be repaired. They placed their belts on their shoulders to carry the cross with the wounded and accompany the dead to their final resting place. I thank you with all my heart.
Your Eminence, the people of Lebanon who have suffered deserve to live in dignity and peace. It refuses to be a victim of the repercussions of international conflicts and the corruption of the majority of Lebanese officials. In all humility, we ask His Holiness and his dignity to redouble their efforts together with the international community to neutralize our country from the conflicts and servile interests of the international axes.
Your Eminence, the East is constantly emptying itself of the Christian presence, especially of its youth. This may be the scheme of some. We ask you, from the depths of our ordeal, to do everything possible to thwart this horrible and damaging plan.
Your Eminence, we ask you to convey our filial love for his holiness and our gratitude to his honorable person. “
Cardinal Parolin delivered a speech in which he thanked Bishop Abdel Sater for hosting him and said: “I thank all of you who are here to participate with us in this spiritual position. We are still under the impact of what happened last month, and we express our solidarity with all the victims of this suicide. We ask God to help us with his strength. Help the suffering people and rebuild Beirut. “
And he added: “Upon my arrival here, I wanted to tell you that we wanted to meet in different circumstances. So I said to myself, no, because the God of love and mercy is also the God of history, and that is why we believe that the hand of God guides us. , and loves us and invites us to fulfill our mission of facing For our brothers and caring for them in this current circumstance despite all the difficulties and challenges.
I came to your historic city to express the proximity of the Catholic Church to you, and Pope Francis asked me to come to you and meet you after you made your call yesterday, and your call for a day of prayer and solidarity with Beirut and all of Lebanon, and the response to the Pope’s call was great from all countries and from different continents. You are not alone, of course, no one can live in such conditions and you constantly fear for your life and that of your loved ones. That is why we are by your side in silence and in solidarity to express our love for you, to be by your side and to boldly announce that our words will help us to purify ourselves and strengthen our intentions of perseverance in coexistence and work for the peace and human dignity, and fight with all our might for better governance that focuses on responsibility, transparency and accountability. . Together, we can defeat violence and all forms of authoritarianism through true citizenship of diversity based on respect for basic rights and duties. “
He added: “In his message on the occasion of the International Day of Peace in 2018, Pope Francis wrote that when the practice of politics and political power is aimed at protecting the interests of a few and their leaders, the future is threatened. , especially the future of young people, because they lose confidence and are pushed to the margins of society without participating in the construction of their common future. ” .
I invite you to insistently demand that all political officials, whether from traditional parties or new emerging movements, sincerely and effectively enhance the talents of emerging youth and their aspirations to live together in peace and build a better future. .
He said: “No one has the right to exploit the dreams of young people and use them for their benefit, but on the contrary, everyone must contribute to the effective participation of these young people in the construction of their society.
I cannot fail to mention the advantage of Lebanon, which Jesus visited with his disciples and with his mother Mary, who has the love of all Lebanese. We all, as spiritual leaders, have a message to be aware of hope, especially for peoples who suffer and afflicted, and we must fulfill this duty by serving our brothers in humanity, starting with those most in need. Beirut increases our hope and gives us hope for the future, and with those present tonight I tell you that I know that you are you. You bear most of the responsibility and make enormous efforts to leave no one behind in this tragedy and in these difficult circumstances. You are loyal to Lebanon’s historic mission of creativity, immunity, and common solidarity. To conclude, I repeat the call of Pope Francis to the international community not to invite Lebanon alone, Lebanon to the world, but the world also needs the unique experience of Lebanon in pluralism and to live together, the solidarity and freedom that is Lebanon, and together we will rebuild Beirut.
Sheikh Arwaddy thanked the Pope and expressed his gratitude and willingness to respond to all sincere wishes.
As for Mufti Abdullah, he thanked the Cardinal and the Pope for their special attention to Lebanon. Lebanon is a message of shared coexistence and a message for the world. This message confirms that Muslims and Christians are together to build this nation, Lebanon, which has suffered a lot and will face all challenges, and will live up to the responsibility and prayer of His Holiness the Pope and we feel calmer. We evaporate it when necessary.
Sheikh Al-Mona thanked His Holiness the Pope for this initiative. We in Lebanon live in diversity and pluralism, and we have rich experience, but unfortunately we have descended at this difficult time into conflict and what seems like the collapse of the state. We believe that your prayers and our prayers should be united for the good of Lebanon, and should be a motive for politicians and officials. To work hard and efficiently to appreciate these initiatives and assistance, and to work together to save Lebanon, the homeland of the message, as His Holiness Pope John Paul II said, Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message.
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