WORLD : Pope Wants to Go to Lebanon
Vatican officials are studying the feasibility of an immediate trip by Pope John Paul II to Lebanon, Vatican and diplomatic sources said today.
A Western diplomat accredited to the Vatican said: “The word is out. He wants to go and they (at the Vatican) are looking for a way to pull it off.”
The Pope made a strong appeal for peace in Lebanon on Aug. 15, accusing Syria, which has about 33,000 troops in Lebanon, of seeking to destroy the country. He said the recent upsurge of violence, in which at least 760 civilians have died in artillery battles since March, had given him an “interior command” to go to Lebanon. He was praying the obstacles to such a trip would be removed.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
