Lebanon is and must remain a peace project - pope

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 26 - Pope Francis on Monday said "Lebanon is, and must remain, a project of peace" during a meeting at the Vatican with the families of victims of the explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020.
    The pontiff prayed for "the peace that mankind has a hard time building on earth".
    "Let's not forget what a pope has said: 'Lebanon is a message, and this message is a project for peace'.
    Lebanon's vocation, the pontiff went on to say, "is to be a land where different communities cohabit prioritizing the common good to particular advantages, where different religions and confessions meet in fraternity".
    "Like you, I feel the pain of seeing again, each day, so many innocents die due to war in your region, in Palestine and in Israel, and Lebanon is paying a high price.
    Quoting his third encyclical All Brothers, the pontiff said "each war leaves the world in a worst state than before.
    "War is always a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful surrender, a defeat in the face of all forces of evil", the pope said, as Israel and the Hezbollah militant group are launching exchanges of fire after months of strikes and counter-strikes.
    The pope went on to recall that "four years have gone by" since the Beirut blast and "the Lebanese people, and first of all you, have the right to words and facts that show responsibility and transparency".
    On August 4, 2020, hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate exploded in a warehouse at Beirut's port, killing at least 218 people, and wounding more than 6,000 others. (ANSA).