As Lebanon marks the second anniversary of a devastating explosion in the Port of Beirut, observers say little progress has been made on an explanation, and many citizens are angry at the lack of answers. Meanwhile, the country’s social and economic crises are worsening.
Two years after she was killed during the Port of Beirut explosion, Krystel El-Adm’s name lives on in the form of help given to students in Lebanon. The Krystel El-Adm Foundation, established by her family, provides scholarships to students.
Catholic leaders from Europe, the United States and Canada called on their governments to support Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai’s appeal for an international conference to protect Lebanon.
On Monday, British Archbishop Paul Gallagher began a five-day trip to Lebanon that will have political, ecclesial, and pastoral implications as the country struggles to overcome a crippling financial and social crisis.
On the outskirts of Tyre, the ancient coastal city in southern Lebanon where Jesus preached, life now has become one of impoverishment, as it has for most of the population of Lebanon.
Advocates say action is needed to stop the hemorrhaging of Christians from their biblical homelands, particularly Lebanon and Iraq, as safety, poor governance and economic crises imperil their future.
On August 4, 2020, in the city of Beirut in Lebanon, in the midst of an already tense situation among the people, in the midst of the pandemic, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate which was stored in the city’s port exploded.
The damage sustained by St. Joseph Church from the August 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion has been repaired. But repairing parishioners’ frazzled nerves will take a lot longer.
After a day of prayer and reflection with Lebanon’s Christian leaders, Pope Francis urged political leaders in the country to set aside partisan interests that have devastated the country.
“Abana alathie,” Pope Francis intoned in Arabic as he led nine Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant leaders from Lebanon in praying the Lord’s Prayer before St. Peter’s tomb.
