Pope Francis: truth over Beirut blast 'can never be hidden'

Second anniversary of deadly explosion in the Lebanese capital is on Thursday

Pope Francis' visit to Lebanon scheduled for June was postponed. EPA

Pope Francis said the truth about the 2020 Beirut port blast “can never be hidden” on the eve of the second anniversary of the deadly explosion.

More than 215 people were killed and thousands injured on August 4 that year, when a huge stock of ammonium nitrate, left in storage for years, caught fire and blew up.

A judicial investigation into the disaster has been at a standstill for eight months, while two sitting MPs charged in connection with the incident have refused to attend hearings.

“My thoughts go to the families of the victims of that disastrous event and to the dear Lebanese people,” Pope Francis said at his weekly address.

“I pray so that each one can be consoled by faith and comforted by justice and by truth, which can never be hidden.

“I hope that Lebanon, with the help of the international community, will continue on the path of rebirth."

Pope Francis was scheduled to visit Lebanon in June, but his trip was postponed.

The explosion is often regarded as a symptom of decades of mismanagement and corruption by Lebanon’s ruling classes.

The country is gripped by an economic crisis, which first became apparent in 2019. It has led to widespread shortages of basic supplies and pushed much of the population into poverty.

Ibrahim Hoteit, surrounded by the families of the victims of the Beirut blast, addresses the media outside the port of Beirut on the sixth-month anniversary of the explosion in February 2021.

Kayan Tleiss sits in front of the shrine dedicated to his brother in his living room in Khalde, in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

A photograph of Mohammad Tleiss is flanked by an image of the Virgin Mary and a copy of the Quran in Kayan Tleiss’s living room in Khalde in Beirut.

Kayan’s mother, holding a photograph of her son, Mohammed, sits outside the port of Beirut on the sixth-month anniversary of the explosion.

Tharwat and Nada Noureddine sit in their living groom in Mar Elias in Beirut surrounded by photographs of Tharwat’s brother and Nada’s son, Ayman.

Tharwat Noureddine holds a photograph that Ayman kept on his desk in Beirut. The frame was damaged during the explosion.

Photographs of Tharwat’s brother and Nada’s son, Ayman, adorn the family's living room in Mar Elias in Beirut. Ayman had returned from five months of training in the US right before the explosion.

Salam Iskandar, her husband, Jaber, and their son, Ali, sit in their living room in Borj El Brajneh in the southern suburbs of Beirut, surrounded by photographs of Salam's brother, Hamza, who died in the Beirut port blast. All photos: Oliver Marsden / The National

Salam Iskandar holds a photograph of her brother, Hamza, on her lap.

On Wednesday, a group of non-governmental organisations spoke about how the investigation into the events of August 4 “has stagnated, with no progress in sight”.

“The Lebanese authorities have repeatedly obstructed the course of the domestic investigation into the explosion by shielding politicians and officials implicated in the explosion from questioning, prosecution and arrest,” they said.

The groups, along with relatives of the victims, are calling for the international community to set up an independent investigation under the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.