Pope decries ‘unacceptable escalation' in Lebanon, calls for 'every effort to stop it'

At his Wednesday general audience, he expressed sorrow for the news from the Land of the Cedars. Proximity to the Lebanese people and to all ‘peoples tormented’ by wars. Catechesis on the Holy Spirit as ally against the evil that hides in superstition: ‘There is no dialogue with the devil’.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - ‘I am saddened by the news coming from Lebanon, where in recent days intense bombardments have caused many victims and destruction’, Pope Francis said this morning from St. Peter's Square, addressing Italian-speaking pilgrims at the end of the General Audience. 

The pontiff was commenting on the dramatic situation in the Middle East, especially after the Israeli offensive in recent days that has caused over 560 victims in the Land of the Cedars.

‘I hope that the international community will make every effort to stop this terrible escalation. It is unacceptable. I express my closeness to the Lebanese people, who have already suffered too much in the recent past,’ he continued.

In front of some 20,000 faithful from every corner of the earth, the Holy Father invited them to pray for peace and ‘for all, for all the peoples who suffer because of war’. He then dedicated a special thought to the many ‘peoples tormented’ by wars, suffering and injustice. ‘Let us not forget the tormented Ukraine, Myanmar, Palestine, Israel, Sudan,’ he added.

Then addressing a group of confirmands from the Italian diocese of Forlì-Bertinoro, present today at the audience, Francis said: ‘Dear children, with the strength of the Holy Spirit, be courageous witnesses of the Gospel among your peers, and do not tire of being protagonists of peace and fraternity in the environment in which you live. The much hoped-for peace can first of all be achieved in everyday life, starting from the protagonism and care of young people.

The catechesis read at the beginning of today's meeting and summarised in several languages, centred on the passage from Luke's Gospel (Lk 4:1-2.13-14) which tells of Jesus ‘led by the Spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted by the devil’ (v. 1). ‘The Holy Spirit, our ally in the fight against the spirit of evil’, was the theme of this morning's talk, which is part of the cycle of catechesis ‘The Spirit and the Bride. The Holy Spirit guides God's people towards Jesus our hope'.

The reflection moved from what is ‘a strange phenomenon concerning the devil’ that can be observed in the present. ‘At a certain cultural level, it is believed that he simply does not exist. He would be a symbol of the collective unconscious, or of alienation, in short a metaphor,’ he explained. ‘He makes us believe that he does not exist. And so he dominates everything, he is cunning'. Despite this, the world ‘teems’ with its expressions, visible above all in the practices of superstition. ‘If you are superstitious unconsciously you are conversing with the devil. With the devil you do not converse,' said the Holy Father.

It was then explained how the ‘strongest’ proof of the devil's existence ‘is not in sinners or the obsessed, but in saints’. It is precisely the enlightened lives of holy people that experience a struggle ‘with this obscure reality’. One can emerge victorious, win this battle ‘as Jesus won it in the desert: by blows of the word of God’. ‘Jesus does not dialogue with the devil. He never dialogued with the devil. He either casts him out or condemns him, but he never dialogues,’ said Pope Francis. Another means is also useful to confront evil: vigilance. Proposed by St Peter: ‘Be sober, keep watch. Your enemy, the devil, like a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Pet 5:8).

Finally, the Pope warned against the ‘means of giving occasion to the devil’ offered by technology. Among them, pornography and the ‘flourishing market’ it drags with it. ‘This is a widespread phenomenon, from which Christians must, however, be well guarded and which they must strongly reject’. But despite the ‘action of the devil’ present in this ‘technological and secularised’ world, one must not be discouraged. ‘The final thought must be, even in this case, one of confidence and security,’ he added. ’Christ has overcome the devil and has given us the Holy Spirit to make his victory our own.