Pope prays at Beirut blast site on last day of Lebanon trip
Pope Leo XIV held a silent prayer at the site of the Beirut port explosion and called for justice for its victims as he concluded his three-day visit to Lebanon.
He also met some relatives of the 218 people who were killed by the massive blast on 4 August 2020, which devastated a large part of the capital, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Later, the Pope said he was "deeply moved" by his visit to the port and shared "the thirst for truth and justice, of so many families, of an entire country".
No-one has yet been held accountable for the disaster, which happened when a fire triggered the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely at a port warehouse for almost six years.
It is widely believed that officials and politicians were aware of the combustible chemical's existence and the danger it posed but that they failed to secure, remove or destroy it.
Victims' relatives and activists say the domestic investigation into the disaster has been hampered by the political leadership's efforts to shield those responsible from scrutiny.
Cecile Roukoz, whose brother Joseph was killed, said the Pope's visit to the memorial was "very important". "We know that he raises his voice for justice, and we need justice for our brothers and all the victims of this explosion," she added.
Tatiana Hasrouty, who lost her father Ghassan in the blast, said: "He's trying to help us find the truth in some sort of way, in his way, maybe in praying and maybe in just looking at us... We, the families, now, after five years, we need people to look at us."
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