Apostolic Journey to Lebanon: Meeting with the Authorities, Civil Society and the Diplomatic Corps, Beirut
Address of the Holy Father
Mr President,
Distinguished Civil and Religious Authorities,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Blessed are the peacemakers!
It is a great joy for me to meet with you, and to visit this land where “peace” is much more than just a word, for here peace is a desire and a vocation; it is a gift and a work in progress. You are invested with authority in this country, each in your own area and with specific roles. It is in light of this authority that I wish to address to you the words of Jesus that have been chosen as the central theme of my journey: “Blessed are the peacemakers!” (Mt 5:9). Certainly, there are millions of Lebanese, here and throughout the world, who serve peace silently, day after day. Yet you, who have important institutional tasks within this nation, are destined for a special beatitude if you can say that you have put the goal of peace above all else. In this meeting, I would like to reflect with you a little on what it means to be peacemakers in circumstances that are highly complex, conflictual and uncertain.
In addition to Lebanon’s natural beauty and cultural riches, which have been praised by those of my predecessors who visited your country, there is a shining quality that distinguishes the Lebanese: you are a people who do not give up, but in the face of trials, always know how to rise again with courage. Your resilience is an essential characteristic of authentic peacemakers, for the work of peace is indeed a continuous starting anew. Moreover, the commitment and love for peace know no fear in the face of apparent defeat, are not daunted by disappointment, but look ahead, welcoming and embracing all situations with hope. It takes tenacity to build peace; it takes perseverance to protect and nurture life.
Examine your history, and ask yourselves: from where comes that formidable energy that has never left your people downtrodden or without hope. You are a diverse country, a community of communities, united by a common language. I am not simply referring to the Levantine Arabic, by which your great past has left inestimable treasures. Above all, I am refering to the language of hope, which has always enabled you to start again. Almost everywhere in the world around us, a kind of pessimism and sense of powerlessness seem to have taken hold, where people are no longer able to ask themselves what they can do to change the course of history. Major decisions appear to be taken by a select few, often to the detriment of the common good, as if this were an inevitable destiny. You have suffered greatly from the consequences of an economy that kills (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 53), from global instability that has devastating repercussions also in the Levant, and from the radicalization of identities and conflicts. But you have always wanted, and known how, to start again.
Lebanon can boast a vibrant, well-educated civil society, rich in young people capable of expressing the dreams and hopes of an entire nation. I encourage you, therefore, never to separate yourselves from your people, and to place yourselves with commitment and dedication at the service of your people, who are so rich in variety. May you speak just one language, namely the language of hope that, by always starting afresh, draws everyone together. May the desire to live and grow in unity as a people create a polyphonic voice out of each group. May you also be helped by those deep bonds of affection that tie so many Lebanese throughout the world to their country. They love their origins and pray for the people of which they still feel a part. They also support them through the many experiences and skills that make them so appreciated everywhere.
This brings us to a second characteristic of peacemakers. Not only do they know how to start over, but they do so first and foremost along the arduous path of reconciliation. Indeed, there are personal and collective wounds that take many years, sometimes entire generations, to heal. If they are not treated, if we do not work, for example, to heal memories, to bring together those who have suffered wrongs and injustice, it is difficult to journey towards peace. We would remain stuck, each imprisoned by our own pain and our own way of thinking. The truth, on the other hand, can only be honored through encountering one another. Each of us sees a part of the truth, knowing one aspect of it, but we cannot negate what only the other knows, what only the other sees. Truth and reconciliation only ever grow together, whether in a family, between different communities and the various people of a country, or between nations.
At the same time, there can be no lasting reconciliation without a common goal, or without openness towards a future in which good prevails over the evils that have been suffered or inflicted in the past or the present. A culture of reconciliation, therefore, does not arise only from below, from the willingness and courage of a few. It also needs authorities and institutions that recognize the common good as superior to the particular. The common good is more than the sum of many interests, for it draws together everyone’s goals as closely as possible, directing them in such a way that everyone will have more than if they were to move forward by themselves. Indeed, peace is much more than a mere balance – which is always precarious – among those who live separately while under the same roof. Peace is knowing how to live together, in communion, as reconciled people. A reconciliation that, in addition to enabling us to live together, will teach us to work together for a shared future side by side. Thus, peace becomes that abundance which will surprise us when our horizons have expanded beyond every wall and barrier. Sometimes we think that, before taking a further step, we need to clarify and resolve everything. Instead, mutual dialogue, even amid misunderstandings, is the path that leads to reconciliation. The greatest truth is that we find ourselves together as part of a plan that God has prepared so that we may become a family.
Finally, I would like to outline a third characteristic of those who strive for peace. Even when it requires sacrifice, peacemakers dare to persevere. There are times when it is easier to flee, or simply more convenient to move elsewhere. It takes real courage and foresight to stay or return to one’s own country, and to consider even somewhat difficult situations worthy of love and dedication. We know that here, as in other parts of the world, uncertainty, violence, poverty and many other threats are leading to an exodus of young people and families seeking a future elsewhere, even though it is very painful to leave one’s homeland. It is certainly necessary to recognize that much good can come to all of you from having Lebanese people spread throughout the world. However, we must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable.
Indeed, the Church is not only concerned about the dignity of those who move away from their own countries. She does not want anyone to be forced to leave their country. Moreover, the Church wants those who wish to return home to be able to do so safely. While human mobility represents an immense opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment, it does not erase the special ties that unite each person to certain places, to which they owe their identity in a very special way. Moroever, peace always grows in a concrete living context, made up of geographical, historical and spiritual bonds. We need to encourage those who foster and nurture them, without giving in to sectionalism or nationalism. In his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis indicated the way forward: “We need to have a global outlook to save ourselves from petty provincialism. When our house stops being a home and starts to become an enclosure, a cell, then the global comes to our rescue, like a ‘final cause’ that draws us towards our fulfilment. At the same time, though, the local has to be eagerly embraced, for it possesses something that the global does not: it is capable of being a leaven, of bringing enrichment, of sparking mechanisms of subsidiarity. Universal fraternity and social friendship are thus two inseparable and equally vital poles in every society” (n. 142).
A challenge, not only for Lebanon but for the entire Levant, is what can be done to ensure that young people in particular do not feel compelled to leave their homeland and emigrate? How can we encourage them not to seek peace elsewhere, but to find guarantees of peace and become protagonists in their own native land? In this regard, Christians and Muslims together, and all religious and civil components of Lebanese society, are called to play their part, and to commit themselves to raising awareness of this issue within the international community.
In this context, I would like to emphasize the essential role of women in the arduous and patient endeavour to preserve and build peace. Let us not forget that women have a special capacity for peace-making, because they know how to cherish and strengthen the profound bonds with life, people and places. Their participation in social and political life, as well as in their own religious communities, represents a factor of true renewal throughout the world, as does the energy that comes from young people. Blessed, therefore, are the peacemakers, and blessed are the young people who remain or who return in order that Lebanon may once again be a land full of life.
I conclude by drawing inspiration from another precious feature of your tradition, which stretches back thousands of years. You are a people who love music. On feast days, this becomes a dance, a language of joy and communion. This aspect of your culture helps us to understand that peace is not only the result of human effort, however necessary. Indeed, peace is a gift that comes from God and which, above all, dwells in our hearts. It is like an interior motion pushing outwards, enabling us to let ourselves be guided by a melody greater than ourselves, namely that of divine love. Those who dance move lightly, without trampling on the earth, harmonizing their steps with those of others. So it is with peace, which is a journey inspired by the Spirit, and causes our hearts to listen, making them more attentive and respectful towards others. May this desire for peace, which comes from God, grow among you; for even today, peace can transform the way you look at others and the way you live together in this land, a land that God deeply loves and continues to bless.
Mr President, Distinguished Authorities, I thank you once again for your welcome. Please be assured of my prayers, and those of the whole Church, for your delicate service to the common good.
Source: vaticannews.va
