Pope Francis may visit Lebanon before end of this year
February 10, 2022, 4:09 pm

Pope Francis may visit Lebanon before end of this year

Pope Francis/Facebook page

The Arab News reported, the Vatican’s foreign minister has announced that Pope Francis will travel to Lebanon before the end of this year “if conditions permit."

A diplomatic source told Arab News that at a meeting with ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Paul Richard Gallagher talked about his visit earlier this month to Beirut to prepare for a possible trip by the pontiff.

During his stay in Lebanon — marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between that country and the Vatican, and the 25th anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II — Gallagher expressed “Francis’s concern and closeness to the Lebanese people and Church at this moment of great difficulty.”

Gallagher told diplomats that his visit “was a very significant experience, both for the pace of the program and for the intensity of the meetings. It allowed me to touch the reality of Lebanon.”

He said he brought “the pope’s closeness and prayers to the Lebanese people, made up of different religions, all equally represented in the constitution.”

Gallagher described Lebanon as “a country afflicted by a painful political stalemate, and suffering from an economic crisis that’s impoverishing the population day after day.” He said that parliamentary elections scheduled for May “are an indispensable step” to restore stability.

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The Arab News said that last November, Pope Francis received in the Vatican Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who officially invited him to visit the country.

It added that last August, on the anniversary of the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut, the pope launched a new appeal to the international community to help Lebanon with “concrete gestures, not only with words.”

Source: arabnews

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.