Pope Leo within the Middle East: “Finally someone is watching us” | EUROtoday

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As of: December 2nd, 2025 8:21 p.m

On his first journey overseas, Pope Leo offered himself as a pastor and ambassador to the Middle East. He typically seeks a dialog on an equal footing – and holds non secular representatives within the area accountable.

Robert Francis Prevost truly already had retirement in thoughts. Not uncommon for a person in his late 60s, even when the church has completely different age limits. And then got here the conclave in May, and Cardinal Prevost turned Pope Leo XIV. “I surrendered,” Leo confessed on the return flight, “when I saw how things were going.”

After his first journey exterior Italy on the newest, he is aware of “how things are going”, what tasks he took on on May eighth and, above all, what expectations weigh on him. In Lebanon, Leo was celebrated as a savior. The battle and crisis-torn nation anticipated nothing extra and nothing lower than “peace” from this papal go to.

Pope Leo XIV encourages and strengthens

Of course everybody is aware of that the Pope can not result in this peace. But Leo’s go to confirmed the world the scenario wherein the folks of the nation discover themselves. In the south, the Israeli military is consistently attacking targets of the Hezbollah militia, which for its half has no intention of giving up its weapons. Lebanese politics is powerless and, on prime of that, overwhelmed. The explosion within the port of Beirut in the summertime of 2020 has grow to be a logo of the decline of a rustic. With his go to, Leo gave the Lebanese folks again a few of their dignity. “Finally someone is looking at us,” mentioned a lady after the Pope’s prayer on the memorial to the port catastrophe.

“Finally someone is watching us.” This might additionally apply to Christians within the area. In Turkey they’re a tiny minority. Pope Leo was there as a pastor and inspired the communities to carry on to their traditions even in a Muslim majority society. And in Lebanon, the place there are considerably extra Christians, he inspired a really younger neighborhood to not flip their backs on the nation and the church, regardless of all the issues.

Israel isn’t talked about

It is placing how reserved Pope Leo is in talking out on political points. Quite a diplomat. Turkish President Erdogan is reminded by Leo how vital range is for a society, however in any other case hears loads of reward. The concern for the existence of the small Christian neighborhood might have been larger than the willingness to sort out sizzling subjects. In Lebanon, Leo did not even point out its neighbor to the south, Israel. And this regardless of the continued assaults by the Israeli military. And but everybody knew who he was speaking about when Leo mentioned shortly earlier than his departure: “The attacks and hostilities must stop.”

Pope Leo has accomplished a really busy program in Turkey and Lebanon lately. He realized concerning the range of Christianity within the Middle East, the place the Catholic Church is only one amongst many. He visited the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and, as was rigorously famous, didn’t pray there. Unlike its predecessor. To derive a disdain for Islam from that is incorrect.

Appeal for peace

On numerous events, Leo sought a dialog on an equal stage. And he made the non secular representatives accountable. And with that additionally themselves. Religions and church buildings should serve peace, they usually can solely try this in the event that they stay in peace with each other. Conversely, if faith is used to justify battle and violence, fundamentalism and fanaticism, then this have to be “decisively rejected”.

Clear phrases from the Pope, spoken on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in Iznik, Turkey. One results of this journey: If Christianity remembers the two,000th 12 months of Jesus Christ’s demise in 2033, then this could occur collectively in Jerusalem, with seen progress in Christian unity. An bold purpose for a person who was truly already excited about retirement.