The situation in Lebanon is critical. The escalating conflict in the Middle East, with the war in Gaza, has now shifted its focus to Israel's northern border.
Continuous attacks between the Israeli army and the terrorist group Hezbollah, allied with Iran and Hamas, have caused an unprecedented crisis, especially for civilians.
Lebanon, with almost 6 million inhabitants, now has one million displaced people, many of them Christians.
The Holy See reiterates the call for a ceasefire. The top diplomat, the Vatican Secretary of State, urged this during his speech at the United Nations.
CARD. PIETRO PAROLIN
Vatican Secretary of State
The ongoing intensification of the conflict between Hezbollah and the Israeli military is putting at high risk the whole region. The Holy See therefore demands that all parties adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law and halt the escalation and enter into a ceasefire without delay.
Lebanon has already faced intense hardship in previous years. In 2019, it had a financial collapse that resulted in the devaluation of the Lebanese currency by 98%.
FR. MICHEL ABBOUD
President of Caritas Lebanon
The Lebanese lira lost its value. If a family's salary was, for example, €1,000, it became €50. Imagine how these people can live.
Add to this the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 Beirut explosion, where some 200 people were killed and 7,000 were injured. In August, the Pope Francis met with 20 families affected by the explosion.
POPE FRANCIS
With you, I remember all those whose lives were taken by that tremendous explosion.
This is not the only gesture Pope Francis has extended for the Lebanese people. In 2021, he met with all the Christian leaders of the country at the Vatican. It was a meeting for peace and included the presence of the Maronite Patriarch.
Three years later, the Patriarch continues to call for an end to the violence in his country. And, regarding the recent Israeli invasion, he urged the need to elect a new president of the Republic, a post that has been vacant for the past two years. According to the Constitution, he should be a Catholic of the Maronite rite.
On a religious level, until the middle of the 20th century, Lebanon was a country with a Christian majority. Now, it has been reduced to 32%. Islam has been on the rise, now followed by over two thirds of the population.
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