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3. Pope Leo Calls for Peace in South Lebanon in Departing Speech

Pope Leo gave a farewell speech from the Beirut International Airport, concluding his 3-day historical visit in Lebanon.   

“Mr President, 

Presidents of the Council of Ministers and of Parliament, 

Your Beatitudes and Brothers in the Episcopate, 

Civil and religious authorities, 

Sisters and brothers, 

Departing is often more difficult than arriving. We have spent time together, and in Lebanon, this spirit of encounter is contagious. Here, I have found that people enjoy coming together, rather than being isolated. While arriving in your country meant gently entering into your culture, leaving this land means carrying you in my heart. Thus, we are not leaving each other; rather, having met, we will move forward together. We hope to involve the entire Middle East in this spirit of fraternity and commitment to peace, including those who currently consider themselves enemies. 

I am grateful, therefore, for the days spent with you, and I am pleased that I could fulfill the desire of my beloved predecessor, Pope Francis, who would have loved to be here. In reality, he is with us, walking with us alongside other witnesses to the Gospel who await us in God’s eternal embrace. We are heirs to what they believed, to the faith, hope and love that inspired them. 

I have seen the profound veneration your people have for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is loved by Christians and Muslims alike. I prayed at the tomb of Saint Charbel and sensed the profound spiritual roots of this country. Your history is a valuable source of nourishment that can sustain you on the difficult journey towards the future! I was deeply moved by my brief visit to the Port of Beirut, where an explosion devastated the area, not to mention many lives. I prayed for all the victims, and I carry with me the pain, and the thirst for truth and justice, of so many families, of an entire country. 

In these few days, I have met many people and shaken many hands, receiving a sense of hope from these encounters. You are as strong as the cedars that populate your beautiful mountains and as fruitful as the olive trees that grow in the plains, in the south and near the sea. In this regard, I greet all the regions of Lebanon that I was unable to visit: Tripoli and the north, the Beqaa and the south of the country, which is currently experiencing a state of conflict and uncertainty. In embracing all of you, I express my aspiration for peace, along with a heartfelt appeal: may the attacks and hostilities cease. We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit. While weapons are lethal, negotiation, mediation and dialogue are constructive. Let us all choose peace as a way, not just as a goal! 

Let us remember what Saint John Paul II reaffirmed while in your midst: Lebanon is more than a country; it is a message! Let us learn to work together and hope together so that this may become a reality. 

May God bless the Lebanese people, all of you, the Middle East and all humanity! Shukran, ila alliqa’!”