Bishop: Lebanon still waiting for pope despite papal visit postponed for health reasons
The Lebanese government announced the postponement of the papal visit even before the final details were worked out. For Bishop Aoun, this was expected given the pontiff’s health. There was also little time to organise it. Still a future visit "remains important” because the “country’s very identity is at stake” as is its “mission”.
Beirut (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis's trip to Lebanon won’t go ahead next month. Both Lebanon and the Holy See had initially announced the visit without providing any details.
The pontiff has had to put off the visit to a later date for health reasons, Bishop Michel Aoun of Jbeil-Byblos said.
Set for 12-13 June, it was supposed to be followed by a visit to Jerusalem and a second ecumenical meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. The latter was replaced last week by a “40-minute talk” centred on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
When the Lebanon visit was first talked about unofficially last month, it was met with a certain “confusion” in Lebanon, a mirror of the mess in which the country finds itself at present.
Still the pope is eager to visit multi-ethnic and multireligious Lebanon, a place of interfaith coexistence and dialogue, which he wants to buttress with his visit. Unfortunately, his health has come in the way and is preventing him from undertaking long trips and intense activities.
Recently, the 85-year-old pontiff has appeared three times in a wheelchair at audiences and meetings. Although his spirits are still high, pain in one knee appears to be getting worse. Surgery has not been ruled out despite possible complications.
Lebanese government sources reported the postponement yesterday, “but “we heard about it a little earlier,” Bishop Aoun explained. “We were told that the Holy Father's health was not good, that he is suffering in one knee and struggling to walk.”
Within Lebanon’s Church and among the bishops, it was known that the visit “would be postponed on health grounds, and not for any other reason.”
What is more, “there was precious little time to organise it” and “as APECL[*] president I faced quite a few difficulties to work out the schedule and protocols in 40 days.”
“We can still hope for a visit in the near future because the trip has not been cancelled, only postponed. His visit is very important because the country’s very identity is at stake right now. As Saint John Paul II said, its mission is to be a 'message' of coexistence to the world. This is why we want Pope Francis to come.”
Lebanon is in fact at a crucial stage in its history. Parliamentary elections begun last week-end for Lebanese abroad, while at home voters will cast their ballot next Sunday.
“On the one hand, some people are looking forward to the vote in order to make things change; others are disenchanted and see no new light at the end of the tunnel, especially among Sunnis, after Hariri pulled out.”
For the prelate, the “greatest enthusiasm” is probably found among Christians who are very keen to “push for changes” in the political leadership.
[*] Assemblée des patriarches et des évêques catholiques au Liban (Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon).
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21/05/2020 15:20
