Pope Francis, who has promised to visit Lebanon if fractious politicians agree on a new government, said he would meet its Christian leaders to discuss the country's worst crisis since its civil war that ended in 1990. He told pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square for his weekly blessing that the meeting in the Vatican on July 1 would be a "day of reflection on the worrying situation in the country".
Lebanon is still reeling from a huge chemical explosion at the Beirut port last year that killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, further weakening an economy already facing meltdown.
Prime minister-designate Saad al Hariri has been at loggerheads for months with President Michel Aoun over cabinet positions.
Lebanon's three main Christian denominations are Maronite Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Melchite Catholics. There are a number of other smaller Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic denominations. The Vatican did not say which would be represented at the Vatican meeting. - Reuters
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