ROME, OCT. 23, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Writing on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent his condolences to Patriarch of Antioch for Maronites, His Beatitude Béchara Boutros Raï following the deadly bomb attack in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut.
A car bomb exploded in Beirut on October 19, 2012 leaving at least 8 people dead and more than 100 others injured. The attack comes a little over a month after Pope Benedict’s three-day visit to the country.
In a telegram sent one day after the bombing, Cardinal Bertone wrote: «Learning of the terrible attack that took place in Beirut, which injured and killed numerous people, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI shares through prayer in the sorrow of the grieving families and the sadness of all the people of Lebanon. He entrusts the victims to God, who is full of mercy, imploring him to welcome them into his light. He expresses his profound sympathy for the injured and their families, asking the Lord to aid and console them in their trial.”
«As he did during his apostolic voyage to Lebanon,» the telegram continued, «the Holy Father once again condemns the violence that brings about such suffering and asks God to grant the gift of peace and reconciliation to Lebanon and the entire region.
Cardinal Bertone concludes: «His Holiness wholeheartedly invokes the abundance of divine blessings upon the grieving families and upon all the people of Lebanon!»
