Cardinal Parolin in Lebanon with the Pope’s message of hope and closeness

By Delphine Allaire and Linda Bordoni

Cardinal Pietro Parolin is on a five-day visit to Lebanon, meeting with ecclesial and civil authorities and visiting humanitarian projects and programs managed by the Order of Malta Lebanon.

His visit comes as analysts say the war between Israel and Hamas could shift to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group has intensified in recent weeks.

The return of violence in the country has derailed hopes that the worst of the political and economic crises to hit Lebanon over the past four years would be left behind.

Celebrating the Mass of the Solemnity of Saint John the Baptist on Monday in Beirut, the Vatican Secretary of State renewed Pope Francis’ appeal “to all those who have responsibilities, so that the election of the (Lebanese) president has take place quickly and that the country We may be able to regain the institutional stability so necessary to seriously address the current challenges.

On Tuesday, the Cardinal, accompanied by the Ambassador of the Order of Malta to Lebanon and state representatives, visited the organization’s health and social services.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Oumayma Farahresponsible for communications and fundraising for the Order of Malta in Lebanon, explained that the visit had been planned for two years and that Providence is such that it takes place at this particularly critical time:

“Cardinal Parolin’s visit was actually planned two years ago,” said Farah, invited by the president of the Lebanese branch of the Order of Malta to visit the country. “Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it before, but Providence did!” she added.

Thus, she explains, when he accepted the invitation, he chose to do so at a time that not only coincided with the celebrations of the national holiday of Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of the Order of Malta, but also “at a time which was absolutely necessary for the country.

But in reality, Farah continued, Cardinal Parolin’s visit “turned out to have a much greater symbolism, because it brought a message of hope to the Lebanese people.”

The Order of Malta Lebanon

Farah explained that the Order of Malta Lebanon has been serving people in need throughout the country and in the most remote areas for 70 years.

It currently implements 60 projects and programs in the health, social protection and agro-humanitarian sectors across the country.

She declared that to be able to better respond to the economic crisis, which affects 80% of the population “by depriving people of their most fundamental rights”, the Order has developed new programs such as the agro-humanitarian program which aims to both in the short and long term. -long-term impact. In the short term, it aims to improve availability and access to food by helping farmers maintain production. In the long term, it aims to improve the resilience of food systems by promoting sustainable production, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 2: “End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Fill the void

Oumayma Farah made it clear that the organization “does not intervene to compensate for the failures of the State”, our objective, she declared, “is not at all to replace the State”.

“Our goal is to be able to empower people, give them back their dignity and fill the void,” she said.

Thus, she added, “when the State regains its sovereignty, its entity and its mission, then we will be able to support it”.

For three years, Farah continued, the gap that the organization has been filling has been in the health sector, “in particular by retaining doctors, offering quality consultations and especially medicines, which were completely out of stock in all the countries “.

There are so many people, she explained, who have lost everything because of the devaluation of the Lebanese pound and because of the series of crises that hit the country, with the explosion in Beirut in 2020, then COVID and the social, economic and social consequences that followed. financial fall.

“And now with the crisis in South Lebanon, so many crises, we are trying to fill the void and stand with people in remote areas, as well as throughout Lebanon,” she said.

Today, Farah concluded, the network of 60 projects and programs of the Order of Malta Lebanon, spread throughout the Lebanese territory, serves anyone in need, regardless of race, color or religion. .