As Lebanon prepares to welcome Pope Leo XIV on an official visit, Hezbollah issued a public letter addressed to the Pontiff, expressing both appreciation for his upcoming trip and concerns over the political and humanitarian situation in the region.
The letter, which comes on the eve of the Pope's arrival, touches on themes of justice, peace, and shared human values, while strongly criticizing what it describes as Israeli aggression in Palestine and Lebanon, and the international community’s complicity in ongoing violations.
"Your Holiness,
The Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church,
Pope Leo XIV — with utmost respect,
Greetings and peace be upon you,
To begin, we express our full welcome and deep appreciation for your honorable presence and your visit to Lebanon — this beautiful country, blessed by God with its unique geographic location and harmonious religious diversity. This diversity, embodied in a shared life and broad consensus, is essential to the stability of its political system and the security of its nation.
Your predecessor, Pope John Paul II, once declared that Lebanon is “not merely a nation, but a message.” Indeed, Lebanon — with its rich mosaic — represents a civilizational bridge between the followers of the two heavenly messages, Christianity and Islam, and among all religious, cultural, and secular traditions across the world.
When human beings are placed at the center of concern for all faiths — and even for secular ideological systems — one can truly hope for the possibility of achieving lasting peace and security.
We read in your guidance and messages a firm commitment to human rights and the imperative to respect and protect them. These rights, however, extend beyond the individual to the broader sphere of peoples and nations.
The conflicts taking place across the world today stem, in large part, from the refusal of some actors — leaders, parties, groups, or states — to acknowledge or respect the rights of others, whether due to differences in religion, race, language, or interests.
It is no secret that the erosion of respect for human rights by certain entities fuels greed, domination, and the use of force instead of justice.
The tragedy witnessed in Gaza over the past two years — and still ongoing — is the result of the Zionist occupiers stripping the Palestinian people of their rights to their land, homeland, and self-determination, as well as the international system’s failure to embrace justice as the basis for resolving the long-standing conflict between an indigenous people and an occupying force.
Similarly, the suffering of the Lebanese people — caused by the Zionist occupation of parts of our land and its continuous aggressions and threats to our security and stability — reflects the enemy’s ambition to control our waters, land, and gas resources, and to impose political, security, and expansionist conditions without limit.
There is no doubt that the Zionist occupation receives — regrettably — unconditional support from major powers that share its ambitions to dominate our region and exploit its resources, with no regard for the rights of our people.
What the “Israeli” enemy has committed in Gaza against the Palestinian people is an act of genocide; and what it continues to commit in Lebanon is an ongoing and condemned aggression.
We, in Hezbollah, seize the opportunity of your blessed visit to reiterate our commitment to shared coexistence, consensual democracy, internal security and stability, and the protection of national sovereignty.
We stand alongside our army and our people in confronting any aggression or occupation targeting our land and our nation.
We also hold firmly to our legitimate right to reject foreign interference aimed at imposing tutelage on our country, undermining our national decision-making, and usurping the constitutional authority of our institutions.
If our religious conviction affirms that the followers of Jesus Christ — peace be upon him — are messengers of love, justice, and human dignity, then we rely on your principled stance in rejecting the oppression and aggression inflicted upon Lebanon by the Zionist invaders and their supporters."
The letter, which comes on the eve of the Pope's arrival, touches on themes of justice, peace, and shared human values, while strongly criticizing what it describes as Israeli aggression in Palestine and Lebanon, and the international community’s complicity in ongoing violations.
"Your Holiness,
The Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church,
Pope Leo XIV — with utmost respect,
Greetings and peace be upon you,
To begin, we express our full welcome and deep appreciation for your honorable presence and your visit to Lebanon — this beautiful country, blessed by God with its unique geographic location and harmonious religious diversity. This diversity, embodied in a shared life and broad consensus, is essential to the stability of its political system and the security of its nation.
Your predecessor, Pope John Paul II, once declared that Lebanon is “not merely a nation, but a message.” Indeed, Lebanon — with its rich mosaic — represents a civilizational bridge between the followers of the two heavenly messages, Christianity and Islam, and among all religious, cultural, and secular traditions across the world.
When human beings are placed at the center of concern for all faiths — and even for secular ideological systems — one can truly hope for the possibility of achieving lasting peace and security.
We read in your guidance and messages a firm commitment to human rights and the imperative to respect and protect them. These rights, however, extend beyond the individual to the broader sphere of peoples and nations.
The conflicts taking place across the world today stem, in large part, from the refusal of some actors — leaders, parties, groups, or states — to acknowledge or respect the rights of others, whether due to differences in religion, race, language, or interests.
It is no secret that the erosion of respect for human rights by certain entities fuels greed, domination, and the use of force instead of justice.
The tragedy witnessed in Gaza over the past two years — and still ongoing — is the result of the Zionist occupiers stripping the Palestinian people of their rights to their land, homeland, and self-determination, as well as the international system’s failure to embrace justice as the basis for resolving the long-standing conflict between an indigenous people and an occupying force.
Similarly, the suffering of the Lebanese people — caused by the Zionist occupation of parts of our land and its continuous aggressions and threats to our security and stability — reflects the enemy’s ambition to control our waters, land, and gas resources, and to impose political, security, and expansionist conditions without limit.
There is no doubt that the Zionist occupation receives — regrettably — unconditional support from major powers that share its ambitions to dominate our region and exploit its resources, with no regard for the rights of our people.
What the “Israeli” enemy has committed in Gaza against the Palestinian people is an act of genocide; and what it continues to commit in Lebanon is an ongoing and condemned aggression.
We, in Hezbollah, seize the opportunity of your blessed visit to reiterate our commitment to shared coexistence, consensual democracy, internal security and stability, and the protection of national sovereignty.
We stand alongside our army and our people in confronting any aggression or occupation targeting our land and our nation.
We also hold firmly to our legitimate right to reject foreign interference aimed at imposing tutelage on our country, undermining our national decision-making, and usurping the constitutional authority of our institutions.
If our religious conviction affirms that the followers of Jesus Christ — peace be upon him — are messengers of love, justice, and human dignity, then we rely on your principled stance in rejecting the oppression and aggression inflicted upon Lebanon by the Zionist invaders and their supporters."
