On the final day of his first overseas trip, Pope Leo XIV prayed at the site of the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion and offered condolences to the Lebanese people.
As Pope Leo arrived at the scorched site on Tuesday, relatives of some of the 218 people killed in the explosion held photos of loved ones. Then, as he spoke to each of them and examined the images, they each stood side by side.
The emotional exchange took place next to the site’s final remaining grain silo, which was destroyed by the August 4 explosion, and among piles of burned-cars that had been left charred in its wake.
When hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in a warehouse, billions of dollars worth of damage was caused.
Families are still pursuing justice after five years. Lebanese citizens who see the blast as further proof of impunity after decades of corruption and financial crimes are angered that no official has been found guilty in the judicial investigation.
Pope Leo had urged Lebanon’s political leaders to pursue the truth as a means of achieving peace and reconciliation when he arrived there on Sunday.
The De La Croix Hospital, which is dedicated to treating people with psychological conditions, was where the pontiff, who was born in the United States, emotionalized his final day in Lebanon.
Mother Marie Makhlouf, the congregation’s mother-superior, welcomed the pope, declaring that her hospital serves the “forgotten souls, burdened by their loneliness.” She expressed her gratitude to the congregation.
The facility serves as a reminder of humanity, according to Pope Leo.
He remarked, “We cannot forget the most vulnerable people.” We can’t imagine a society that moves forward at the same speed as it does, ignoring the many situations of poverty and vulnerability while clinging to the false myths of well-being.
He was scheduled to attend a Mass in a different Beirut location along the waterfront, where he could maneuver through the crowd in his covered popemobile.
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Source: Aljazeera
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