Currents News Staff
Pope Francis offered prayers for the lives lost and altered by the Beirut blast.
“My thoughts go to the families of the victims of that disastrous event and to the beloved Lebanese people,” the pontiff said.
The Holy Father added this very pointed remark.
“I pray for those to be consoled in faith and comforted in justice and truth, which can never be concealed,” he said.
The country has been in a state of political turmoil following the blast in August of 2020. Two years later and the people still don’t have answers. The Judicial probe to charge several officials with criminal neglect over the improper storage of ammonium nitrate is still being blocked.
United Nation Human Rights experts are calling for an investigation. In a statement they said:
“On the second anniversary of the blast, we are disheartened that people in Lebanon still await justice, and we call for an international investigation to be initiated without delay.”
While the fight for information continues, the country still mourns. The incident claimed more than 200 lives and injured thousands more. The blast – the largest non-nuclear explosion in history – took out homes, businesses, schools and churches.
Bishop Gregory Mansour, the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, frequently travels back to Lebanon and says from all the devastation – came a beautiful sight.
“At the time of the explosion, Lebanese Catholic institutions,” Bishop Mansour said, “ mostly Maronite, were already running on fumes…because of the economic downturn and problems with government corruption but they rallied and we outside rallied to help them stay open and serve the poor, and they have, and I don’t know how, it’s really kind of miraculous.”