The Virgin of Mount Harissa, Lebanon

(15 Aug 2006-RV) Earlier today Papal Envoy to Lebanon Cardinal Roger Etchegaray presided over mass at the Marian shrine of Harissa. In his homily the former head of the Vatican’s council for justice and peace, urged forgiveness and reconciliation between the religions and cultures that populate the Middle East. The cardinal spoke of the need to eradictae the source of evil that led to the spilling of so much blood. Pointing out that over 30 percent of the war’s victims were under 12 years of age, he said that violence reduces men to beasts, adding that the true path to peace must be spiritual before it can be political. Lebanese Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch, was present at today’s mass. He says the Pope’s attention for the people of Lebanon has been of great support through troubled times.