Pope Appeals for Lebanon Leaders to Put Interests Aside

The empty presidential chair of former Lebanese President Michel Aoun after vacating the presidential palace at the end of his six-year term, at Baabda Palace, east of Beirut, Lebanon, 01 November 2022. (EPA)

Pope Francis appealed Sunday for Lebanon’s politicians to put their personal interests aside and agree on a path to help the country emerge from years of economic meltdown and a new political vacuum.

“Lebanon now is suffering,” Francis said when asked en route home from Bahrain if he might visit the country, which he had been considering earlier this year but had to postpone.