Cardinal Pietro Parolin. (Photo: Vatican News)
A top Vatican official visiting Lebanon has said that he will participate in discussions on the socio-economic and political issues the country faces and assured assistance towards solving them, says a report.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, made his remarks after his arrival in Beirut on June 23 to begin his five-day state visit, Lebanon’s government-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
“There is great concern in terms of politics in Lebanon and the economic crisis that affects the poor, namely the political crisis, the institutional crisis, and the problem of electing the president,” Parolin said.
“We will try as much as possible to help and move forward in this direction...We may not succeed, but I hope at least to help in some way,” Parolin added.
Parolin also expressed his immense happiness in visiting the Muslim-majority nation and thanked the government and the organizers for the warm welcome for his visit that is slated to end on June 27.
Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s foreign minister, received Parolin at the airport, NNA reported.
Parolin said that he is visiting Lebanon following an invitation from Maria Emerica Cortese, ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Lebanon and the Lebanese state officials.
Parolin will meet local authorities, members of the Maronite Patriarchate, the local Church, Patriarchs, and religious leaders in Lebanon, Vatican News reported.
On June 24, Parolin will celebrate a Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Saint John the Baptist, Patron Saint of the Order of Malta.
He will also visit some of the humanitarian centers run by the Order's Lebanese Association participating in some charitable activities, and depart from Lebanon on June 27, Vatican News reported.
Parolin’s visit to Lebanon should be seen by the Lebanese as the best alternative to the long-awaited but still planned visit of the Pope, news agency This is Beirut reported citing an unnamed source close to the organizers of the visit.
“We should closely follow the homily he will deliver during the Mass to understand what the Holy Father wishes to convey to us during this critical period of our national life,” the unknown source said.
Parolin is also slated to make protocol visits on Wednesday to the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berry, and the caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati.
He will also participate in an interfaith summit on June 25, followed by a lunch at the patriarchal seat in Bkerkeh. Reportedly, all Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Lebanon have been invited to the event.
An unnamed official at the Maronite Patriarchate said that the meeting will allow Parolin “to ensure the commitment of the various components of Lebanese society to the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Lebanon, beyond the apparent divisions that have emerged in recent years.”
The source also pointed out that the visit was primarily pastoral in nature and would allow Parolin to “make contacts or offer advice that he cannot provide from a distance, but which would be timely remarks and opinions.”
Lebanon has been facing multiple levels of crisis that have affected its citizens at various levels.
According to the World Report 2023 published by Human Rights Watch (HRW), Lebanon entered the fourth year of a crippling economic crisis that has had disastrous consequences for rights and pushed over 80 percent of the population into poverty.
Marginalized communities, including refugees, people with disabilities, children, older people, migrant workers, and LGBT people, have been disproportionately impacted, the report said.
Following the conclusion of erstwhile President Michel Aoun's term, the government has been unable to elect a new president, leaving the country in a political and economic vacuum.
In June 2023, protests aimed at banks and politicians erupted after lawmakers failed in their twelfth attempt to elect a president.
