Vatican criticises Lebanese politicians for ’profiting from suffering’ of the people

Catholic Church diplomat calls for an end to foreign interference in the country

In Beirut, Archbishop Paul Gallagher announced that Pope Francis was planning a trip to Lebanon to meet the Catholic faithful there. Photo: AFP

Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher criticised Lebanon’s elite for exploiting problems in the country for their personal gain.

”Let there be an end to the few profiting of the suffering of many,” the archbishop said during a visit to Beirut.

“No more letting half-truth continue to frustrate people’s aspirations,” he said after a meeting with President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda.

The Vatican diplomat also called for an end to foreign interference in Lebanon’s affairs.

“Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interest and profit,” he said.

The archbishop made the remarks a week after the World Bank criticised Lebanon’s ruling class for “orchestrating” one of the world’s worst national economic depressions since the 1850s.

"Lebanon's deliberate depression is orchestrated by the country's elite that has long captured the state and lived off its economic rents," it said.

The lower and middle classes have been hit the hardest by the country’s depreciating currency as inflation is estimated to have reached 145 per cent in 2021. That is the highest global increase after Venezuela and Sudan.

Archbishop Gallagher also indicated that Pope Francis would visit Lebanon soon, without specifying a time frame.