Pope Leo XIV during a mass at St. Peter's Basilica, Nov. 3, 2025. (Credit: Yara Nardi/Reuters)
BEIRUT — On Monday, MP Elias Jaradeh, on behalf of several fellow MPs from the protest movement, urged Pope Leo XIV to visit South Lebanon during his upcoming trip scheduled from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, so he may witness the “human tragedy” unfolding among local residents.
The Israeli military continues to launch strikes on the South, from the border area to villages north of the Litani River, in strikes that have killed more than 300 people since November 2024, including about 100 civilians.
Israelis also continue to occupy six positions on strategic points in South Lebanon, and conduct regular ground incursions along the border.
“The message of the Church, under the leadership of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, cannot be complete without concrete solidarity with the people of South Lebanon who are suffering from ongoing Israeli aggression and its consequences in terms of displacement, destruction, and significant loss of life,” Jaradeh — himself a native of the region — stressed in a letter read during a press conference in Parliament.
He invited the pontiff “not to settle for a symbolic visit to Lebanon, but to turn his visit into an apostolic act that embodies the values of the Church by standing with the oppressed,” and to highlight, for the entire world, “the human tragedy experienced by the inhabitants of the border villages...”
He also called on those organizing the visit, especially ecclesiastical authorities in Lebanon, “not to overlook the real suffering in the South,” arguing the visit would be “meaningless” if the pope did not go there to “bring comfort” to residents.
An MP, who is also a physician, expressed hope that the pope could visit destroyed and damaged border villages to “see for himself the extent of the catastrophe and launch his global call for peace from the heart of the pain.”
The letter sent to the Vatican was signed by MPs Ibrahim Mneimneh, Halimeh Kaakour, Najat Saliba, Paula Yacoubian and Melhem Khalaf.
