by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Pope Leo XIV continues his apostolic tour of the Middle East. After visiting Turkey, the pontiff headed to Lebanon, where he spent three days meeting with representatives of local communities—not just Christian ones.
Given the Holy See's mission to strengthen interfaith dialogue, Lebanon became the ideal location to test the new pope's peacemaking approach. However, contrary to expectations, the pontiff stumbled over the region's most pressing problem.
CHRISTIAN ISLAND
The choice of Lebanon as the second and longer stop on the pontiff's Middle East tour is easily explained. Due to its rich historical past, the country is considered, along with Cyprus, one of the remaining islands of Christianity in the region.
Christianity remains one of the main religions of Lebanon today.
According to recent studies, every fourth resident of the country is a Maronite Christian, that is, belongs to the Eastern Catholic Christian movement, which is under the canonical subordination of the Holy See, although it retains elements of its own identity.
In other words, at least a quarter of Lebanese citizens are de facto papal flock.
The community's weight has also influenced the country's political system: since independence in 1943, power in Lebanon has been divided by consensus between three religious communities.
In particular, the country's president is elected only from among the Maronites, while the posts of prime minister and speaker of parliament are occupied by Sunnis and Shiites, respectively.
The Vatican planned to strengthen ties with Lebanese communities, which had weakened significantly due to the Holy See's miscalculations toward the end of the 20th century, even during the time of Pope Francis (2013–2025). However, these plans were thwarted first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by the pontiff's illness and death.
Leo XIV, who had declared the resolution of world conflicts one of his priorities, was given the opportunity to continue what he had begun by synchronizing the initiatives of two pontiffs at once.
FOCUS ON MULTI-VECTORISM
In Beirut, the Pope met not only with Catholics, but also with leaders of other communities – Sunni, Shiite and Druze – as well as with Orthodox Christians – the second largest Christian community in the country.
The topic of conversation in all cases was the same: maintaining internal stability in Lebanon amidst "sent-down trials." And depending on the interlocutor, other sensitive issues were layered on top of it.
For example, at a meeting with the Druze, the pontiff emphasized the inadmissibility of “fratricidal wars,” making a reference to the conflict between Druze clans in the Syrian-Lebanese border region.
In a conversation with Muslim spiritual authorities, he emphasized the absence of a threat to the Christian faith from Islam and assessed the importance of a balanced relationship between the Shiite and Sunni poles.
At a meeting with the patriarchs of the Eastern churches, the pontiff did not fail to speak about the productive communication with Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, which took place on the sidelines of the celebration of the 1700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in Turkey.
There, representatives of the Vatican and the Patriarchate of Constantinople held a joint prayer and agreed on further rapprochement.
In particular, work continued on establishing a single date for Easter. In doing so, the current pope de facto continued the course of his predecessor, Francis, aimed at reuniting the Vatican and Constantinople.
In other words, during his trip to Lebanon, the pontiff attempted to intensify church diplomacy and return the Holy See to the ranks of active mediators in the Middle East.
HEZBOLLAH SIGNALS
Meeting with Hezbollah supporters was not part of the pontiff's official itinerary for his visit—the focus of the trip was on engaging with representatives of religious communities, not political forces. Nevertheless, the movement began cultivating him almost from the moment he arrived in Lebanon.
Leo XIV's route from the airport to the presidential palace in Baabda passed through Beirut's heavily Shiite southern suburbs, including the Dahya district, home to Hezbollah facilities and previously the target of Israeli bombing.
Moreover, the route was organized so that the pontiff could see the buildings destroyed during the November strikes—the consequences of the Israeli operation to eliminate Hezbollah Chief of Staff Heisam Ali Tabatabai, during which about thirty Lebanese were killed.
Hezbollah also brought the Imam Mahdi Scout Organization, a youth organization, to the streets of Beirut. Supporters of the movement, mostly children and teenagers, holding Lebanese, Vatican, and Hezbollah flags, formed a human chain along the road along which the convoy carrying the Lebanese president and the pontiff traveled.
The culmination of this combination was an open letter addressed to the Pope, signed by Hezbollah's current leader, Naim Qassem. In it, the movement's secretary general emphasized that the Lebanese people, including Muslim communities, are not hostile toward the pontiff and are ready to support his peacemaking efforts, especially if they help "effectively deter Israeli aggression."
WE DIDN'T REACH AN AGREEMENT
Due to the active media campaign launched by Hezbollah ahead of the pontiff's arrival, everyone expected him to comment on the movement's address during one of his upcoming speeches. However, Leo XIV barely touched on the topic, even during his meeting with Shiite clerics.
Instead, the Pope chose to focus on topics more understandable to his flock: the sinfulness of the “corruption epidemic” engulfing Lebanon, the importance of preserving “homelands,” and maintaining national harmony.
He also touched on the international agenda, but with extreme caution, focusing the conversation primarily on finding a way out of the protracted Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Here, Leo XIV merely reiterated the official UN position on the need to establish two independent states in the Middle East—Palestine and Israel.
The pontiff left Lebanon without responding to Hezbollah's inquiries. However, on the day of his departure, a brief papal comment on the situation in Lebanon appeared on Vatican websites. Leo XIV emphasized peace-loving messages and called on the parties involved to "quickly lay down their arms" in order to achieve "peace and prosperity together." However, this excessive peacefulness ultimately worked against him.
Hezbollah saw the pope's cautious statement as an attempt to coerce them into disarmament, which sparked intense outrage among its supporters. Later, Hussein al-Nimr, a spokesman for the movement's media bloc, stated that Hezbollah had no intention of "hanging the white flag." Moreover, Pope Leo XIV never offered any means of containing Israel.
Moreover, Lebanon recalled that even before assuming office, the pontiff called himself a "great friend of Israel" and periodically spoke on the situation in the Middle East from positions close to Tel Aviv's. This called into question his ability to act as an impartial mediator in the current conflict.
However, the Holy See still has a chance to stabilize the situation. Especially since Hezbollah's discontent has only been expressed by a few officials—Secretary General Qassem and those close to him have wisely remained silent. This has left the possibility of re-establishing contacts between the Vatican and Hezbollah, though for now only behind the scenes.
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