Pope Francis loved Lebanon and defended it until the last breath

Pope Francis has been known since the Archbishop of Argentina was simply and away from the cost in traditions. During the early days of his ink, he made several amendments to the papal traditions, so he kept the iron cross that he was wearing as bishops and did not wear the golden cross. He was also overwhelmed by a white -white -colored, instead of the red imposed by the tradition. While receiving the Cardinals on the first day after his election, he received them standing not sitting on his throne, as he went to shake hands with some of the Cardinals, leaving what was called the papal throne. Another group of the protocol bases related to receiving the Cardinals as well as the ambassadors, and refused to reside in the Apostolic Palace opposite the Saint Peter Square, and preferred to reside in the house of Saint Martha, which is a small hostel to receive the Vatican guests, to be the first door since Pius X does not take the Apostolic Palace a permanent headquarters for his residence.

The Pope Francis did not distinguish from other popes, with the exception of Pope John Paul II, that he had more than good relations with the people of the Lebanese community in Argentina on the day he was Cardinala on the Argentine capital. This relationship was more established when it became a door, so it was the best defender of this country, which the saint described as a message more than an ordinary homeland. This matter was manifested on more than one occasion, especially in the meeting that brought together church officials in Lebanon, namely Catholic patriarchs, Orthodox patriarchs, Syriac and Orthodox, as well as the officials of the Evangelical Churches, with the aim of forming a unified Christian vision on how to help Lebanon burdened with severe political and economic crises, and to get out of this difficult situation that has never seen an example during its modern history.

The meeting carried many eloquent signs and was a small Senodes that indicates that the Vatican diplomacy put the Lebanese issue in the ladder of its priorities, especially after it became aware of the numbers and facts of the danger that threatens the presence of Christians and their role in Lebanon, knowing that the research in the meeting was not limited to the conditions of Christians only, but also with the fate of Lebanon and its future, because the Vatican is always launched From the symmetry between the fate of the Christian existence and the fate of Lebanon as a whole. Naturally, the debate dealt with the issue of Christian existence in the east, as the Vatican keeps pace with the issue of minorities and is widespread from the transformations and the change that is waving on the horizon. It is also natural that the future of the Christian presence in Lebanon is the axis and the goal in light of a “existential crisis” that it is going through. The Vatican did not enter or once entered the Lebanese political details, but rather was always resorting to collecting a unified vision because the Pope knew everything that was going on in Lebanon, and the Vatican circles were kept unseen of political differences and discussions and what is going on in official and religious institutions and all the details related to political, financial and economic daily diaries.

In this meeting, the Vatican did not want only to raise the level of discussion, because what the Pope actually aspires to by calling the spiritual leaders is to hear all of them to see Lebanon under the title of it another dimension: “What do Christians from Lebanon want, what they want for him, and what they do to him?
The simplicity of this idea is that it is deep with its implications and future effects, because it is a pronouncement of spiritual officials, in seriously thinking about what can be presented to their homeland. The Christians who had a vision of Lebanon in its past and present, and they still have a basic role in it, are supposed to have a future vision of the homeland they want, away from any political or constitutional ideas and detailed discussions.

Through this meeting, Pope Francis wanted to send messages in more than one direction, as follows:

-In order to keep the Christians in their land and not to emigrate, on the contrary, clinging to their homeland, and not leaving it despite the difficult circumstances, and working to reduce migration and determine the ways and means that serve this goal.

-Giving hope to Christians that they are not left to their fate and mysterious destiny, and that the Vatican is closely following their cause, and it is more than keen to stay, their existence and their role in Lebanon and the region.

-For the sake of the unity of the situation among all Christians, first, provided that this pave the way for a position between all sects in the approach of Lebanese national affairs.

-A message from all forces in Lebanon that the Vatican is keen on all Lebanese, and does not distinguish between Christians and Muslims, and that he is keen on the coexistence model.

-A message from the international community, especially the United States of America, that the Vatican will not allow Lebanon to be a preacher on any negotiating table in which issues that have nothing to do with Lebanon and its independence can be decided, and therefore, the Vatican will not allow any barter at the expense of Lebanon, its cause and its typical historical role at the level of the message.

After this meeting, we no longer see cross -crosses on the chest of patriarchs and bishops.