happened in Beirut deeply sadden the whole CLC. It is a real disaster following two strong explosions at the port of Beirut. The city is devastated. There are a lot of victims, wounded, people lost under the ruins or thrown into the sea, and widespread damage in the area. In the blink of an eye, many found themselves homeless. It is sad. Today is a day of national mourning in Lebanon.
In this moment, we want to express our pain and our prayer for the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.
The national community in Lebanon is well, beyond the material damage that this situation has generated. We have also been informed that the Society of Jesus community is fine. As we have been told, “several members felt that divine protection saved their lives.”
Perhaps many of you these days could be remembering Lebanon because it is the seventh anniversary of our sixteenth General Assembly held there in 2013. Recalling what we experienced there and reading the final document, may our gaze at Lebanon encourage us to renew our “commitment to the reality of our contemporary world – to be transformed by that reality and to help change it. And may that commitment find us working together for the reconciliation of this world.