Pope Leo XIV sends message of support to southern Lebanon as he ends 1st foreign trip

By NICOLE WINFIELD KAREEM CHEHAYEB and BASSEM MROUE BEIRUT AP Pope Leo XIV prayed Tuesday at the site of a deadly Beirut port explosion that has become a symbol of dysfunction and official impunity and called for justice to prevail as he offered words of consolation to Lebanon s people including in the war-battered south on the final day of his first overseas trip Related Articles Israeli forensics experts examine remains handed over by fighters in Gaza Russian skiers and snowboarders allowed by CAS to try to qualify for Winter Olympics Afghanistan s Taliban rulers carry out general execution in sports stadium in eastern city Putin accuses Europeans of sabotaging peace efforts on Ukraine and meets US delegation In the current era in History December Terror attack on San Bernardino holiday party kills Relatives of specific of the people killed by the blast held up photos of their loved ones as Leo arrived at the scorched site They stood side by side as Leo prayed silently first at a monument to the dead then greeted each one grasping their hands The emotional encounter took place next to the shell of the last grain silo standing at the site destroyed by the Aug blast and the piles of burned cars torched in its wake The explosion did billions of dollars in damage as hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a port warehouse Five years on the families of those killed are still seeking justice No official has been convicted in a judicial assessment that has been repeatedly obstructed angering Lebanese for whom the blast was just the latest evidence of impunity after decades of corruption and financial crimes The visit clearly sends the message that the explosion was a crime explained Cecile Roukoz whose brother Joseph Roukoz was killed and who was on hand to meet the pope There should be a message the country should end impunity and ensure justice is served Pope Leo XIV waves as he boards a flight back to the Vatican after his visit to Lebanon at Beirut International Airport in Beirut Lebanon Tuesday Dec AP Photo Hussein Malla When he arrived in Lebanon on Sunday Leo urged the country s political leaders to pursue the truth as a means of peace and reconciliation In a homily Sunday after praying at the site Leo referred explicitly to the blast and called for Lebanon to be a place of justice Pope calls for justice at Mass An estimated worshippers packed the Beirut waterfront for Leo s final Mass which he celebrated instantly after praying at the nearby blast site In his homily Leo named the various problems the Lebanese people have faced from economic crises to the blast and renewed fears of war He explained it s natural to feel paralyzed by powerlessness in the face of evil and oppressed by so multiple hard situations But he urged them not to be resigned and to find avenues to remain hopeful and grateful He insisted though that justice was part of the equation Let us cast off the armor of our ethnic and political divisions open our religious confessions to mutual encounter and reawaken in our hearts the dream of a united Lebanon he commented A Lebanon where peace and justice reign where all recognize each other as brothers and sisters Lebanon stand up Be a home of justice and fraternity Be a prophetic sign of peace for the whole of the Levant An emotional visit to the hospital The American pope opened his final day in Lebanon with an emotional visit to the De La Croix hospital which specializes in care for people with psychological problems Awaiting him were specific familiar-looking faces young boys dressed up as Swiss Guards and cardinals and even one dressed as the pope himself in all white Rose petals are scattered to Pope Leo XIV as he leaves after visiting the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross in the town of Jal el-Dib north of Beirut Lebanon Tuesday Dec AP Photo Hassan Ammar The mother superior of the congregation that runs the hospital Mother Marie Makhlouf was overcome as she welcomed the pope telling him that her hospital cares for the forgotten souls burdened by their loneliness Leo disclosed the facility stands as a reminder to all of humanity We cannot forget those who are bulk fragile We cannot conceive of a society that races ahead at full speed clinging to the false myths of well-being while at the same time ignoring so a large number of situations of poverty and vulnerability he declared For Lebanon the visit means a lot declared pilgrim Maggie Claudine who was waiting for Leo at the hospital We hope that peace will prevail and that is what we wish for We want to live in comfort Families of blast dead seek justice Leo has sought to bring a message of peace to Lebanon as it copes with the economic crises the aftermath of last year s devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel and the fallout from the port blast Among those on hand to welcome Leo at the blast site was Lebanon Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed whose mother was killed Another was Mireille Khoury whose -year-old son Elias was killed When Leo approached her Khoury pointed to the building where they lived across the port where Elias died as he was hanging out in his room Khoury announced Lebanon cannot heal from its wounds without justice and accountability She has been among the relatives who have called for finalizing the stalled probe that implicated a long list of political precaution and judicial functionaries The probe has been obstructed by officers who have largely refused to cooperate Relatives of casualties of the Beirut port explosion wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at the site of the explosion in Beirut Lebanon Tuesday Dec AP Photo Domenico Stinellis Justice is the basis of building any country she explained The Associated Press in an interview before the pope arrived in Lebanon Our children were killed in their homes They were killed because someone kept ammonium nitrate in the main port of the city near a residential area Khoury announced the pope s prayer and help would bring selected relief but revealed she would not give up on her pursuit for justice I will not say that this anger will fully just disappear Khoury declared But I think it will give chosen sort of relaxation of this anger that is in my heart until justice is served The fate of the port s massive grain silos which absorbed much of the shock of the explosion has also been a matter of debate The Lebanese administration at one point planned to demolish the damaged silos but decided against it after families of the blast s casualties and survivors who want them preserved protested The port meanwhile is largely functional again but still hasn t been fully rebuilt Calls for peace in the south Pope Leo XIV referenced the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon in his farewell speech at the Beirut airport and sent a message of help to people of the south Pope Leo XIV holds a moment of prayer at the site of the Beirut port explosion in Beirut Lebanon Tuesday Dec AP Photo Domenico Stinellis Christians in the south had been disappointed that his trip did not include a visit to their areas which were battered by last year s war between Israel and Hezbollah and are still the target of regular airstrikes that Israel says aim to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding 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 at this moment experiencing a state of conflict and uncertainty Leo declared He also referred to the cities of Sidon and Tyre which are mentioned in the New Testament as biblical places May the attacks and hostilities cease he noted We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit While weapons are lethal negotiation mediation and dialogue are constructive Soon after the pope s plane departed an Israeli drone appeared in the sky over Beirut Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Leo to keep Lebanon in his prayers The Lebanese are a faithful people who deserve life he noted As we bid you farewell we do not only part with an honored guest but with a father who brought us comfort and reminded us that the world has not forgotten Lebanon Mroue shared from Jal el-Dib Lebanon Associated Press journalists Fadi Tawil and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this description Associated Press religion coverage receives endorsement through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content