Pope resumes public audiences a month after major surgery

Pope Francis resumed his routine of holding weekly audiences with the general public a month after he underwent bowel surgery, and during the much-awaited appearance Wednesday he recalled the anniversary of the devastating Beirut port explosion and expressed the desire to visit Lebanon.

Near the end of an almost hour-long audience, Francis spoke of the Beirut explosion, recalling the "victims, their families, the injured, and all those who lost homes and work" in the blast. Lebanon's people, he said, were still "tired and disappointed" in the aftermath, a reference to the economic and political crises convulsing the Middle Eastern nation on the Mediterranean Sea. Francis appealed to the international community to offer "concrete gestures" of help to the Lebanese people and not "just words."