Lebanese Cardinal: "The Church has a great duty" after the Beirut explosion

After at least one explosion occurred in Beirut ports on Tuesday, a Maronite Catholic cardinal said the local Church needs support to help the Lebanese people recover from this disaster.

“Beirut is a devastated city. A catastrophe struck there due to the mysterious explosion that took place in its port ”, declared Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch on 5 August.

"The Church, which has set up a relief network throughout the Lebanese territory, is today faced with a new great duty that it is unable to assume on its own", continued the declaration of the patriarch.

He said that after the Beirut explosion, the Church is "in solidarity with the afflicted, the families of the victims, the injured and the displaced that it is ready to welcome into its institutions".

The explosion in the port of Beirut killed at least 100 people and injured thousands, flooding hospitals. The death toll is expected to rise further as emergency personnel search for an unspecified number of people still missing in the rubble.

The blast ignited the fires and most of the city was without electricity on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sections of the city, including the famous waterfront area, were destroyed by the blast. Crowded residential neighborhoods in eastern Beirut, which is predominantly Christian, also suffered severe damage following the blast, felt 150 miles away in Cyprus.

Cardinal Rai described the city as "a war scene without war".

"Destruction and desolation in all its streets, neighborhoods and houses."

He urged the international community to come to the aid of Lebanon, which was already in an economic crisis.

“I turn to you because I know how much you want Lebanon to regain its historical role in the service of mankind, democracy and peace in the Middle East and in the world,” Rai said.

He asked countries and the United Nations to send aid to Beirut and called on charities around the world to help Lebanese families "heal their wounds and restore their homes."

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared August 5 a national day of mourning. The country is divided almost evenly between Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims and Christians, many of whom are Maronite Catholics. Lebanon also has a small Jewish population as well as Druze and other religious communities.

Christian leaders asked for prayers after the blast, and many Catholics turned to the intercession of St. Charbel Makhlouf, a priest and hermit who lived from 1828 to 1898. He is known in Lebanon for his miraculous healings of those who visit his. tomb to seek his intercession - both Christians and Muslims.

The Maronite nel Mondo Foundation posted a photo of the saint on their Facebook page on August 5 with the caption “God have mercy on your people. Saint Charbel pray for us “.

The study and offices of the Christian Middle East television network Noursat were about five minutes from the site of the explosion and were "severely damaged" according to a joint statement by the network's founder and president on 5 August.

They asked for "intense prayers for our beloved country Lebanon and Tele Lumiere / Noursat to continue its mission in spreading the word of God, hope and faith".

"We pray for the souls of the victims, we ask our Almighty God to heal the wounded and to give strength to their families"