the lack of a president in Beirut weighs on today’s Middle East

The Vatican Secretary of State began a five-day visit at the invitation of the president of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta. At yesterday’s mass, on the occasion of the feast of Saint John the Baptist, he renewed the call to “fill the void of this Christian voice, which would undoubtedly make a difference,” even in the face of the dangerously blowing winds of war. The role of the Church in helping those in need.

Beirut () – At the invitation of Marwan Sehnaoui, president of the Lebanese Association of the Knights of Malta, Card. Pietro Parolin arrived in the Cedar Country on Sunday, June 23 for a five-day official trip that will last until June 27. The cardinal’s program is dense and includes a visit to the Order’s humanitarian centers as well as meetings with the highest authorities of the country, with the local Church and with representatives of the Muslim religious authorities.

Yesterday afternoon Card. Parolin celebrated the mass of the solemnity of Saint John the Baptist, patron of the Order of Malta, in the Jesuit church of Saint Joseph, which was attended by the commander in chief of the Army, General Joseph Aoun. On that occasion, the cardinal once again raised the concerns of the Holy See regarding the prolonged vacancy of the position of head of state, an anomalous and worrying fact. Indeed, Lebanon has not had a president since November 2022 and all attempts to call elections have failed due to a power play and crossed vetoes within the Shiite community, led by Hezbollah, which wants to impose its own candidate. Added to this is the lack of consensus within the Maronite Christian faction, to which the head of state must belong according to constitutional tradition.

In the homily, the Secretary of State acted as spokesman for the Holy See and referred to the Vatican’s concerns in this regard: “The Church in Lebanon – the cardinal noted – must also bear witness, according to its noble mission of keeping alive and the message of ‘living together’ is effective. In this sense I would like to point out – he continued – that for months there has been a great lack of a Christian voice that would undoubtedly make a difference; the voice of the president of Lebanon is missing. such a serious moment for the entire Middle East. “In the name of the Holy Father, with confidence and hope, I renew this call to all those who have a responsibility for the election of the president – the Card continued. Parolin – is carried out as soon as possible and the country can recover the institutional stability so necessary to seriously face the current challenges.”

Cardl Parolin’s program includes a series of personal meetings with political leaders and personalities from Lebanon. There has also been a rumor – which could not be confirmed – that he will meet with the Army Commander, the only high-ranking Maronite administrative figure currently in office in the absence of the head of state. On the other hand, he is one of the consensus candidates for the presidency of the Republic, a man who is considered to “unify and reassure”, according to a Maronite representative of the associative world who spoke with , although he requested anonymity.

At the same time, the Vatican Secretary of State received in a private audience deputy Michel Mouawad, proposed as a candidate by a group of parliamentarians hostile to Hezbollah, who were numerically insufficient to elect him. Formal meetings are scheduled tomorrow with the Speaker of the House, Nabih Berry, and the outgoing Prime Minister, Nagib Mikati.

Humanitarian diplomacy

The Card. Parolin also visited yesterday the representatives of the centers and entities that work in the humanitarian sector and depend on the Lebanese Association of the Order of Malta, the undisputed leader in primary health care in Lebanon. With its 10 medical and social centers, in the last four years the Catholic organization has also been committed to managing six “agro-humanitarian” projects to collaborate with food security in Lebanon. The cardinal revealed that these realities constitute a response to the serious economic crisis that the Country of the Cedars is experiencing. In fact, at this moment 80% of Lebanon’s population lives in conditions of poverty and growing insecurity.

“Change the face of Lebanon”

At the conclusion of his visit to the center for the disabled in Chabrouh (Kesrouan), in the mountains of Lebanon, Card. Parolin asked that the Order’s humanitarian action be rooted in Christian love and joy. “In this way we will be able to change the face of Lebanon,” concluded the cardinal, using words that have a wide echo both on a human and moral level, in a Lebanon mired in economic and security precariousness.

Yesterday Card. Parolin moved to the district of Zghorta (Northern Lebanon), and throughout the day he visited an agro-humanitarian center, a medical-social center and a home for the elderly. In his speech, the cardinal reminded the members of the Order of their religious vocation and that the humanitarian action of the Christian organization reflects the guidelines of the Catholic Church: “The work that you do – he noted – is not merely humanitarian in nature. “. It differs from many institutions or associations, he added, “because it is a religious work founded on faith in Christ.”

In this way, the number two of the Vatican echoed the words of Pope Francis who, on the occasion of the General Conference of the Order of Malta (January 27, 2024), invited us to keep in mind that “there are no two different realities, that of the Sovereign Order of Malta, an international entity in charge of works of charity and assistance, and that of the religious institute.”

Today the Card. Parolin was invited to a luncheon in his honor organized by Card. Maronite Primate Béchara Raï, in the patriarchal see of Bkerké. Also in attendance were Catholic and Eastern Orthodox patriarchs and representatives of Muslim religious leaders. Among them Sleiman Frangié and Gebran Bassil, representing the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, the Sunni mufti, the head of the Druze and Alawites, but no personality from the Shiite community was registered. A source of He said that, during the lunch, the cardinal assured that the Pope “closely follows” the evolution of events in Lebanon.

This afternoon the cardinal will celebrate a mass in Annaya, where the tomb of Saint Charbel is located, and will pray with the religious men and women of Lebanon.

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