The World : Pope Invited to Visit Beirut

The spiritual leader of Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Hezbollah group invited Pope John Paul II to visit war-ravaged Beirut and guaranteed his security in the city’s Muslim western sector. The invitation by Sheik Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, made in an interview with the Rome daily La Repubblica, came amid growing speculation in Italy that the pontiff could make a visit next month. The Vatican has confirmed it is trying to arrange a papal trip to Lebanon. An editorial in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano said John Paul wants to go to Lebanon as a pilgrim to a martyred land. Fadlallah has criticized the Pope for championing the Christians in Beirut while accusing the Muslims of trying to destroy Christian areas of the city.