The Free Patriotic Movement submits a comprehensive memorandum to the Pope:The 1949 Armistice Agreement remains the best framework to regulate the situation until a comprehensive regional peace is achieved. We seek Your Holiness’s support for Lebanon amid ongoing challenges. Beirut, 26 November 2025His Holiness Pope Leo XIVMemorandumSubmitted by: The Free Patriotic Movement Your Holiness,Your visit to Lebanon is a deeply spiritual blessing for the Land of Cedars and a vital source of political and moral support. Your presence rekindles memories of your predecessors’ visits, especially that of Saint John Paul II on May 10–11, 1997, when he announced the decisions of the Synod for Lebanon. That visit was a turning point in our national history, laying the groundwork for significant changes: the liberation of most Lebanese territory from Israeli occupation in 2000, the end of Syrian dominance in 2005, and the return of Christian leaders to active political involvement.Your Holiness,You are aware that our country has long endured, and continues to endure wounds, hardships, and persistent challenges. Part of Lebanon’s land remains under Israeli occupation, which expanded during the 2023 war.Since 1948, and again after 1967, Lebanon has borne the heavy responsibility of hosting nearly half a million Palestinian refugees. Their internationally recognized right of return remains blocked by Israel’s refusal and by the lack of progress toward establishing an independent Palestinian state.Following the outbreak of the Syrian conflict, Lebanon also received nearly two million displaced Syrians who remain in the country despite the collapse of the former Syrian regime, improved conditions in Syria, and the disappearance of all reasons for their displacement.Lebanon is not a country of asylum, as it has not joined the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, and its Constitution explicitly rejects naturalization.The presence of Palestinian and Syrian populations places significant burdens on Lebanon, including security risks, economic pressures, competition in the labor market, and population density. Their numbers now amount to nearly half that of Lebanese citizens residing in Lebanon, undermining the delicate demographic balance of our nation.Lebanon also faces daily Israeli threats and violations: airstrikes, attacks, and assassinations that undermine sovereignty, endanger stability, damage the economy, hinder tourism, and push our people toward anxiety and emigration.Our country continues to pay a heavy price for the absence of a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the Middle East. It remains under threat from Israel, while extremist armed groups have previously occupied large areas along the eastern and northern borders, attacking Lebanese soldiers and officers before being eventually defeated. At the same time, Lebanon faces Israeli and Western pressure preventing adequate armament of its national army to enable it to confront Israeli and terrorist threats. As a result, some of the Lebanese population have resorted to holding weapons outside the official armed forces, under the label of “resistance,” while others oppose owning such weapons.All of this happens without a comprehensive national defense strategy, despite our support for exclusive state control over weapons, which is meant to keep the state robust and able to defend the country.The recent Israeli war on Lebanon resulted in the total or partial destruction of thousands of homes in South Lebanon, the Beqaa, and Beirut, displacing their residents and creating a significant social and national crisis that compounds Lebanon’s existing burdens.Lebanon experienced a severe economic and financial crisis in 2019, resulting in the rapid devaluation of its national currency and the illegal withholding of Lebanese, Arab, and foreign deposits by Lebanese banks. This crisis stemmed from foreign pressures, accumulated internal imbalances, and an undeclared political and economic blockade. It remains unresolved today and has led to new waves of youth emigration. Your Holiness,Christians in the East have long faced persecution.Since the start of the “Arab Spring,” Syria and Iraq have gone through huge waves of Christian displacement, nearly wiping out their communities, while Christians in Palestine face the risk of vanishing completely.In Lebanon, the Christian presence has declined due to repeated wars, economic collapse, and external pressures. Yet, it remains substantial, resilient, and capable of revival, particularly through the involvement of the influential Lebanese diaspora, where Christian communities remain active.Despite its shortcomings, Lebanon’s political system still guarantees Christians a meaningful share in governance.The decline of the Christian presence in Lebanon would signify the disappearance of Christianity in the East. It was this active Christian role in Lebanon that inspired Saint John Paul II to declare: “Lebanon is more than a country; it is a message of freedom and diversity.”We therefore appeal to the Vatican to support a vibrant, open, participatory, and equitable Christian role across all spheres; politically, administratively, and throughout national life. Your Holiness,On your historic and blessed visit, we submit this memorandum to express our position as a national Lebanese party that has long struggled for Lebanon’s sovereignty, independence, unity, and for a free, dignified, and active Christian presence.We hereby wish to convey the following considerations:1. The Lebanese state has failed to liberate occupied territory, repatriate displaced Syrians, resolve the banking deposits crisis, ensure judicial independence, halt Israeli violations, combat corruption, restore essential public services (water and electricity), rebuild South Lebanon, or establish a credible national defense strategy that guarantees exclusive state control of arms while preserving Lebanon’s defensive capabilities.Internally, the state has acted vindictively, especially within public administration and the judiciary, targeting opponents, including supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement.2. The implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 is a national necessity. However, according to the Lebanese Army Command, Israel continues its occupation, violations, and breaches of the ceasefire.We call on the international community, and particularly the Vatican, to exert pressure on Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and to cease all attacks on Lebanon’s land, airspace, and waters.3. Most Lebanese people support the state’s exclusive possession of arms. This position has also been affirmed by a government that includes Amal and Hezbollah.This exclusivity, however, must be integrated into a national defense strategy that preserves Lebanon’s strengths against Israeli and terrorist threats and be reinforced by international guarantees safeguarding Lebanon from aggression.We appeal to Your Holiness to support efforts urging Israel to complete its full withdrawal from Lebanese territory, release Lebanese detainees, end its threats of establishing a “Greater Israel,” and refrain from all forms of aggression.We also call for the proper armament of the Lebanese Army to ensure it can defend the country, along with a serious plan to disarm Palestinian camps and transfer all weapons to the Lebanese Army.4. Proposals to establish a weapons-free or population-free border strip in South Lebanon constitute an attack on Lebanon’s sovereignty, territory, and dignity.We call on the Vatican to stand with Lebanon against such measures, as well as against the construction of any suspicious zones or concrete barriers that violate national sovereignty.5. While Syria’s internal affairs remain its own, we ask the Vatican to assist in neutralizing threats from extremist Syrian groups, advocate for the immediate return of displaced Syrians residing in Lebanon to their homeland, clarify the fate of Lebanese detainees and missing persons in Syrian prisons, and support enhanced border control, security, and judicial cooperation. 6. The U.S. proposal for an economic zone along the Lebanese–Israeli border remains unclear.It may be considered only within a comprehensive peace framework that ensures the full rights of Lebanon and all concerned parties under international law.7. The Lebanese people do not seek war, but they believe that lasting peace in the region is possible only if it is comprehensive, just, and sustainable, based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative and the principle of “land for peace”.Peace between Lebanon and Israel can be achieved only when Israel withdraws from all Lebanese territory, a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established pursuant to Resolution 242, Palestinian refugees return in accordance with Resolution 194, and Lebanon’s sovereignty and rights to its water, oil, and gas resources are ensured.8. Peace requires dialogue, and dialogue is possible if Lebanon’s rights and interests are protected.The 1949 Armistice Agreement remains the best framework to regulate the situation until a comprehensive regional peace is achieved.9. Lebanon urgently needs international support for reconstruction and must, in turn, commit to comprehensive reform.We respectfully seek Your Holiness’s encouragement to inspire nations to act in this direction.10. Lebanon suffers from ongoing foreign interference.The absence of a robust national defense strategy and inadequate military support have allowed foreign states to deal directly with Lebanese parties and finance them for political purposes.11. We respectfully seek the Vatican’s support for the efforts of certain states to hold international conferences aimed at providing financial assistance to resolve the deposits crisis, address Lebanon’s economic and monetary challenges, rebuild the country, and restore essential public services. 12. We also seek Your Holiness’s support in opposing any internal measures that could be seen as attempts to marginalize the active and equitable Christian role in governance. We respectfully submit the foregoing for Your Holiness’s consideration,The Free Patriotic Movement Read more