Pope Francis confirms intention to visit Lebanon

ROME: During a private audience in the Vatican with Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, Pope Francis on Thursday confirmed that he wants to visit the country as soon as possible.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told a press briefing attended by Arab News that the pope “reiterated his closeness to the Lebanese people, who live in a time of great difficulty and uncertainty.”
Bruni said the pope confirmed to Hariri his desire to visit Lebanon “as soon as the conditions will allow it,” and expressed his wish that the country, “with the help of the international community,” will once again be a land of “coexistence and pluralism.”
Pope Francis announced his intention to visit Lebanon on his return flight from Iraq last month.
Hariri was tasked nine months ago with forming a government that is supposed to allow Lebanon to negotiate with the West long-awaited financial aid to overcome the country’s economic crisis.
A source in the Vatican told Arab News that Hariri asked the pope to intercede with Lebanese President Michel Aoun to help him form a new government.
Cardinal Bechara Rai, the Maronite patriarch of Lebanon, has called for an international conference to save the country from financial collapse.
Hariri also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, and with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, who is in charge of its relations with states.
On Thursday night, Hariri is expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.