Pope Francis on Thursday once again called on the international community to provide assistance to Lebanon to overcome the dire crisis
VATICAN CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2020) Pope Francis on Thursday once again called on the international community to provide assistance to Lebanon to overcome the dire crisis.
"Let us help Lebanon to stand apart from conflicts and regional tensions. Let us help Lebanon to surmount this grave crisis and resume a normal existence," the pontiff said in a special message sent on Christmas Eve to the Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, to the President of the Assembly of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon and Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai.
Pope Francis noted that he was troubled to see the suffering of many people, and how Lebanon was deprived of the hopes for peaceful life.
He has repeatedly called on the international community to provide effective assistance to Lebanon. In early August, the Holy See donated 250,000 Euros ($304,850) to the Church of Lebanon to address the consequences of the blast in Beirut.
In September, Pope Francis called on people to hold a day of prayer and fasting in solidarity with the crisis-hit country.
Lebanon is going through a deep financial and economic crisis, that is having an extreme negative effect on the living standards of the population. The banking system is paralyzed, and the unemployment rate and the number of families living below the poverty line is increasing. This situation has led to a deterioration of the security level in Lebanon, and an increase in the number of robberies and crimes.
