The Syriac-Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, in Rome as a member of the Synod, appeals for a war-torn land: “It was the pearl of the Middle East, many have exploited it. The country now needs its autonomy and independence, no to armed militias replacing the State.” This morning, the audience with the Pope: “I thanked him for his fatherly words for suffering Lebanon.”
By: Olivier Bonnel – Vatican News
Published on:
“No to interference and intervention from outside, leave autonomy to the Lebanese. Let them solve their problems on their own.” This is the appeal made through Vatican media by Ignace Youssef III Younan, the Syriac-Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, currently in Rome participating in the Synod on Synodality and, this morning, received in an audience in the Vatican by Pope Francis. “It was a very beautiful meeting, I thanked the Holy Father wholeheartedly for his support and fatherly encouragement for suffering Lebanon,” recounts the patriarch. “The Pope rightly said that the increasing violence in Lebanon is no longer acceptable. This small country was a pearl of the Middle East and the entire region, unfortunately, many have abused it… The Pope is very close to the Lebanese and calls on the warring parties to ensure peace.”
Listen to the interview with Patriarch Younan
Intervening for a solution
The patriarch looks with pain at the situation in the Land of the Cedars, where the war has spread across the territory in recent days, with bombs falling on Beirut. However, he claims not to fear divisions in the religious and social fabric: “I think all confessions will agree that Lebanon needs to regain its independence, be open to all, with the same rights, without interference from outside. I think the Lebanese already know this.”
“We cannot solve the problem of Palestine – the Arab League must intervene and find a solution,” Younan declares. The prelate’s concern is for all the people who have been forced to leave their homes: “There is a migration of approximately one million people, many innocents.”
Ensuring security for all Lebanese
The humanitarian situation, however, according to the Syriac-Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, is not the most urgent: the urgency is “to give the country identity, autonomy, the ability to solve its problems.” “No more armed militias replacing the State. This is what we need…,” he adds. “And I think they are working towards supporting the Lebanese army and finding a way to ensure security for all Lebanese.”
