Pope Leo makes a strong pitch for peace in war-threatened Lebanon

When Pope Leo arrived in Beirut on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 30, on the second stage of his first foreign trip, his main aim was to promote peace and do what he could to prevent a year-long, unstable cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon from collapsing into a new war.

It is his first time in “the land of the cedars,” as this country of some five million people is called, where the majority-Muslim population has lived side by side with Christians. At the time of its independence in 1943, the mostly Maronite Christian population counted for around 51 percent of the population, but today it is estimated to make up 33 percent of Lebanon.

“Blessed are the peacemakers” is the motto of Pope Leo’s two-day visit here. These words of Jesus served as the leitmotif of his keynote address to an audience of 400, who included the political authorities of Lebanon, civil society representatives and the diplomatic corps.

He spoke at the presidential palace soon after engaging in private conversations with Lebanon’s three top political leaders: the Maronite Christian president, Joseph Aoun; the Shiite Muslim president of the National Assembly, Nabih Berri; and the Sunni Muslim prime minister, Nawaf Salam. 

President Aoun, the former top general of the Lebanese army, escorted Leo to the hall where he was warmly welcomed. Speaking in Arabic, the president welcomed him as “a messenger of peace…to the land of the Canaanite woman who sought healing for her daughter, and to whom Jesus said: ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’” He told the pope: “Our people, Holy Father, embody this Canaanite woman today. Our faith is great, and our hope is to heal the minds, the hearts and the souls from hatred, wars and destruction.” 

He described Lebanon as “a country unique in its regime, where Christians and Muslims are different in beliefs but equal in rights, under a constitution founded on equality between them, and on openness to every person and every free conscience.” He emphasized the need to preserve this model and said that “if Christians in Lebanon were to disappear, the delicate balance would collapse and, with it, justice. 

“Similarly, any harm to the Muslim community in Lebanon would also destabilize the equation and undermine justice as well. The fall of Lebanon, precipitated by the loss of any of its integral components, would foster the rise of extremism, violence and bloodshed both in our region and in the world,” Mr. Aoun said. 

As he welcomed the fourth pope to visit Lebanon, the Christian president said: “Holy Father, we implore you to tell the world that we shall not die, nor leave, nor despair, nor surrender…. We urge you to tell the world that we shall remain the only place of dialogue in our region, and I dare say in the whole world, where this community can rally behind the successor of Peter, as united representatives of all the sons of Abraham, with all their convictions, their sacred values and their common beliefs.”

After thanking the president for his speech, Pope Leo went to the podium and told the nation’s leaders that “blessed are the peacemakers” is “the central theme of my journey.” He said they would indeed be blessed if they “put the goal of peace above all else.” To assist them in this daunting task, he offered a reflection on “what it means to be peacemakers in circumstances that are highly complex, conflictual and uncertain.”

He first highlighted “resilience” as “an essential characteristic of authentic peacemakers” because “the work of peace is indeed a continuous starting anew.” And this is “a shining quality that distinguishes the Lebanese,” he said, because “you are a people who do not give up, but in the face of trials, always know how to rise again with courage.” 

Pope Leo said the Lebanese possess these qualities because they are “a diverse country, a community of communities, united by a common language…the language of hope, which has always enabled you to start again.”

He acknowledged that working to build peace today is difficult because “almost everywhere in the world around us, a kind of pessimism and sense of powerlessness seems to have taken hold, where people are no longer able to ask themselves what they can do to change the course of history.”

He denounced the fact that “major decisions appear to be taken by a select few, often to the detriment of the common good, as if this were an inevitable destiny” and that the Lebanese “have suffered greatly from the consequences of an economy that kills, from global instability that has devastating repercussions also in Middle East and from the radicalization of identities and conflicts.”

Notwithstanding this reality, Pope Leo said the Lebanese “have always wanted and known how to start again.” This is possible, he said, because Lebanon has “a vibrant, well-educated civil society” and is “rich in young people capable of expressing the dreams and hopes of an entire nation.”

He encouraged Lebanese political leaders “never to separate yourselves from your people, and to place yourselves with commitment and dedication at the service of your people, who are so rich in variety” and speak “the language of hope that, by always starting afresh, draws everyone together.” 

Referring to the estimated 14 million Lebanese who are scattered in the diaspora worldwide, Leo commended the Lebanese “desire to live and grow in unity as a people” and expressed the hope that they may be helped in this by the “deep bonds of affection that tie so many Lebanese throughout the world to their country.” 

Pope Leo then pointed to a second characteristic of peacemakers. They not only “know how to start over,” he said, but “they do so first and foremost along the arduous path of reconciliation.” He underlined the fact that “there are personal and collective wounds that take many years, sometimes entire generations, to heal” and said, “if they are not treated, if we do not work, for example, to heal memories, to bring together those who have suffered wrongs and injustice, it is difficult to journey toward peace.” He was referring to the Lebanese civil war that lasted from 1975 to 1990 and led to the death of some 150,000 people and the exodus of more than one million.

“Peace,” Pope Leo said, “is much more than a mere balance, which is always precarious among those who live separately while under the same roof. Peace is knowing how to live together, in communion, as reconciled people. A reconciliation that, in addition to enabling us to live together, will teach us to work together for a shared future side by side.”

He emphasized that “mutual dialogue, even amid misunderstandings, is the path that leads to reconciliation. The greatest truth is that we find ourselves together as part of a plan that God has prepared so that we may become a family.”

The American-born pope then went on to speak about “a third characteristic of those who strive for peace.” He said that “peacemakers dare to persevere, even when it requires sacrifice.” He recognized “there are times when it is easier to flee, or simply more convenient to move elsewhere.” But, he  said, “it takes real courage and foresight to stay or return to one’s own country, and to consider even somewhat difficult situations worthy of love and dedication.”

He acknowledged that in Lebanon, as in other parts of the world, “uncertainty, violence, poverty and many other threats are leading to an exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere, even though it is very painful to leave one’s homeland.”

It must be recognized, he said, that however “much good can come to all of you from having Lebanese people spread throughout the world…we must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable.”

He told his audience that “the church is not only concerned about the dignity of those who move away from their own countries. She does not want anyone to be forced to leave their country. Moreover, the church wants those who wish to return home to be able to do so safely.”

At this point, the Augustinian pope highlighted an issue that is a challenge not only for Lebanon but for the entire Middle East: the exodus of young people. He asked: “What can be done to ensure that young people in particular do not feel compelled to leave their homeland and emigrate? How can we encourage them not to seek peace elsewhere, but to find guarantees of peace and become protagonists in their own native land?”

In this regard, he said, “Christians and Muslims together, and all religious and civil components of Lebanese society, are called to play their part, and to commit themselves to raising awareness of this issue within the international community.”

Pope Leo also emphasized “the essential role of women in the arduous and patient endeavour to preserve and build peace.” 

“Women,” he said, “have a special capacity for peacemaking because they know how to cherish and strengthen the profound bonds with life, people and places. Their participation in social and political life, as well as in their own religious communities, represents a factor of true renewal throughout the world, as does the energy that comes from young people.”

As he concluded his talk, Pope Leo said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, and blessed are the young people who remain or who return in order that Lebanon may once again be a land full of life.” He then added, “May this desire for peace, which comes from God, grow among you; for even today, peace can transform the way you look at others and the way you live together in this land, a land that God deeply loves and continues to bless.”