VATICAN CITY, MAY 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging the Lebanese to abandon violence so that the nation can be an example of peaceful coexistence for the world.
The Pope expressed his hopes for a peaceful Lebanon today after praying the Regina Caeli with thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Fighting began in Lebanon last Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of 38 people. The fighting today moved beyond the capital.
The Holy Father said he has been following the situation "with great concern in recent days [...] where, political initiatives having stalled, verbal violence and then armed confrontations followed, with many dead and wounded."
"Even if in these last hours the tensions have slackened, I believe that it is a duty today to exhort the Lebanese to abandon every argument for aggressive opposition that would cause their country irreparable damage," the Pontiff said.
He continued: "Dialogue, mutual understanding and the search for reasonable compromise are the only way to restore to Lebanon its institutions, and to the people, the necessary security for a daily life that is dignified and rich with hope for tomorrow.
"May Lebanon, through the intercession of Our Lady of Lebanon, know how to respond with courage to its vocation of being, for the Middle East and for the whole world, a sign of the real possibility of constructive and peaceful coexistence among people.
"The different communities that make up Lebanon, as the postsynodal exhortation 'A New Hope for Lebanon' observed, are at the same time 'a richness, an originality and a difficulty. But bringing Lebanon to life is a common task for all of its inhabitants.'"
Benedict XVI prayed through the intercession of Mary, "the Virgin in prayer at Pentecost," that God would give "an abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of unity and concord, who inspires inspirations of peace and reconciliation in all."
Lebanon has not been able to elect a president since last November due to fighting between the government and the opposition Hezbollah movement.
The Shiite Hezbollah group is considered a terrorist organization by some countries, and is backed by Syria and Iran.
The fighting over the last week is the worst the country has seen since its 1975-1990 civil war.
