Rounding up his historic trip in Iraq, Pope Francis announced that his next trip to the Middle East will be to Lebanon.
“Lebanon is a message. Lebanon is in pain,” he began. “Lebanon represents more than balance… Lebanon has some weakness resulting from diversity, some of this diversity that has not been reconciled, however, it has the strength of its reconciled people like the power of the Cedar.”
He added that Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi had asked him to stop by Beirut, but he declined, adding that it seemed “too little” for him to make a stop in Lebanon.
“It seemed to me to be too little, like crumbs, for a country that is suffering like Lebanon,” he said about only stopping by, wanting, instead, to dedicate a visit to the crisis-stricken country.
Pope Francis has kept a watchful eye on Lebanon since the beginning of the crisis. In his Christmas Day message, he had announced that he wanted to visit Lebanon as soon as it was possible.
