Pope Leo XIV yesterday hailed Lebanon as an example of tolerance and urged Christian and interfaith leaders to continue working to maintain a peaceful coexistence in a region where religious tensions are often acute. Source: Crux.
Speaking to ecumenical and interfaith leaders during a speech in Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, which sits next to a mosque, the Pope told Lebanese faith leaders that, “In an ever more interconnected world, you are called to be builders of peace.”
They are called, he said, “to confront intolerance, overcome violence, and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice and concord for all, through the witness of your faith”.
Leo met with the Christian and interfaith leaders after paying a visit to the tomb of Saint Charbel Maklūf, a beloved and highly revered figure in Lebanese Christianity.
He also met with the bishops, clergy and religious serving in Lebanon, urging them to work for peace and promote works of solidarity in a diverse nation and region, before holding a private lunch with the patriarchs of various Christian churches in the country.
At the ecumenical and interfaith meeting, Pope Leo said that while peaceful coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the Lebanese people, with their different religious confessions, serve as “a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word, and that unity, reconciliation, and peace are possible”.
Following the celebration, Leo joined the other religious leaders present in planting an olive tree as a sign of their common commitment to peace.
“From this tree flows oil that heals – a balm for physical and spiritual wounds – manifesting the boundless compassion of God for all who suffer,” he said.
Pope Leo closed his second day in Lebanon by telling about 15,000 young people gathered in front of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch in Bkerke, Beirut, not to be discouraged by the challenges they face due to poverty and conflict, but to root themselves in Christ and commit to building a future of hope for the troubled nation.
As young people, “you have more time to dream, to plan and to do good,” he said, telling the youth that they are “the present, and the future is already taking shape in your hands! You have the enthusiasm to change the course of history!”
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Pope in Beirut hails Lebanon as example of tolerance (By Elise Ann Allen, Crux)
