​President Aoun: “Christianity in Lebanon is not in danger”.

President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, and the accompanying delegation arrived at Fiumicino Airport in Rome on an official visit to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis.

The President will also visit his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, at the Presidential Quirinale Palace.

President Aoun was received at the airport by Head of Ceremonies in the Holy See, Monsignor Joseph Murphy, Papal Ambassador, Francesco Canalini, representatives of the Supreme Pontiff, and Counselor, Carmelo Ficarra from the diplomatic ceremonies at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Lebanon's Ambassador to the Vatican, Dr. Farid Elias El-Khazen, and Lebanon's Ambassador in Italy, Mira Al-Daher, Maronite Patriarchal delegate to the Holy See, Bishop Youhanna Rafic Al-Warsha, Vice-Dean of the Pontifical Institute in Rome, Father Joseph Sfeir, and Father Anthony Choueifati of the Rota Court in the Vatican.

President Aoun's Statement:

The President expressed his pleasure for being in Rome, and stressed the importance he attaches to his meeting, for the second time during his tenure, with the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, in view of the depth of the relations that bind Lebanon and its sons of all denominations with the Church and the Supreme Pontiffs.

President Aoun also asserted that “Lebanon has been going through a severe period of economic and social difficulties that erupted as a result of accumulations dating back to years of wrong management of public affairs, which exacerbated with the spread of the Corona pandemic and the great explosion that occurred in the port of Beirut causing a major humanitarian disaster and damage to lives and property”.

“At the same time, the Holy See has a special place in the heart of every Lebanese, as its officials have always stood by Lebanon, in the various difficult circumstances it has gone through, throughout its history. The Lebanese of different sects have always been reassured that the eye of the Master of the Holy See surrounds them” President Aoun said. 

“Pope Francis has previously sent his Eminence Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin to Lebanon following the Beirut explosion, and nearly a year later, the Secretary of Relations with Countries, Monsignor Paul-Richard Gallagher. In addition to dedicating a day of prayer and meditation for Lebanon in the heart of the Holy See on the first of last July” the President continued.

Moreover, President Aoun affirmed that he is bringing to His Holiness Pope Francis a message of love on behalf of all the Lebanese, and renewing the official invitation that he had previously addressed to him, to visit Lebanon in order to restore hope for the launch of the recovery process, at a time when we need his prayers and words.

The President also considered that Christianity in Lebanon is not in danger, as some insist on portraying. 

“I am looking forward to this visit as a glimmer of hope to confirm that Lebanon is not transient, and it will remain, despite all the difficulties. Lebanon is a model for living together, according to what all the Lebanese insist on. No one in Lebanon fought the other with the aim of changing his doctrine. From here we still consider Lebanon today as a center of convergence in the world between Christianity and Islam with all their sects, as well as a meeting place for various civilizations” President Aoun said.

“My visit, in this particular circumstance, to the capital of Catholicism comes not only in the context of strengthening relations with the Vatican, as this is a foregone conclusion as it is one of the constants of Lebanon's relations with the outside. But we consider His Holiness the Pope, as the largest spiritual and moral force in the world, and the one who helps us the most, especially in difficult circumstances, with his influence. He never failed to consider Lebanon a priority, despite the multiplication of his frameworks of interests in a world suffering from many intertwined crises, the latest of which is the war in Europe between Russia and Ukraine which casts a shadow over international relations as a whole” President Aoun concluded.

Meeting:

After a short break in the Salon of Honor, the President moved to his residence at the Parco dei Principi Hotel in Rome, where he immediately held a meeting with Ambassador Al-Khazen and then with Ambassador Al-Daher to see the final arrangements for his meeting program.​