BEIRUT — BEIRUT (AP) — Pope Leo XIV prayed Tuesday at the site of a deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion that has become a symbol of Lebanon’s dysfunction and official impunity as he offered words of consolation to Lebanon’s people on the final day of his first overseas trip.

Relatives of some of the 218 people killed by the blast held up photos of their loved ones as Leo arrived at the scorched site. They then stood side-by-side as he greeted each one in a line: Leo grasped their hands, spoke to each one and looked at the photos.

The emotional encounter took place next to the shell of the last grain silo standing at the site destroyed by the Aug. 4, 2020 blast and the piles of burned cars torched in its wake. The explosion did billions of dollars in damage as hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a warehouse.

Five years on, these families are still seeking justice. No official has been convicted in a judicial investigation that has been repeatedly obstructed, angering Lebanese for whom the blast was just the latest evidence of impunity after decades of corruption and financial crimes.

“The visit clearly sends the message that the explosion was a crime,” said Cecile Roukoz, whose brother Joseph Roukoz was killed and who was on hand to meet the pope. “There should be a message, the country should end impunity and ensure justice is served.”

When he arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, Leo urged the country’s political leaders to pursue the truth as a means of peace and reconciliation.

The American pope opened his final day in Lebanon with an emotional visit to the De La Croix hospital, which specializes in care for people with psychological problems. Awaiting him were some familiar-looking faces: Young boys dressed up as Swiss Guards and cardinals, and even one dressed as the pope himself in all white.

The mother superior of the congregation that runs the hospital, Mother Marie Makhlouf, was overcome as she welcomed the pope, telling him that her hospital cares for the “forgotten souls, burdened by their loneliness.”

Leo said the facility stands as a reminder to all of humanity. “We cannot forget those who are most fragile. We cannot conceive of a society that races ahead at full speed clinging to the false myths of wellbeing, while at the same time ignoring so many situations of poverty and vulnerability,” he said.

Leo was set to end his visit with a Mass at another location along the Beirut waterfront, where he looped through the crowd in his covered popemobile.

Thousands of Lebanese flocked to the Mass site and along his motorcade route, overjoyed that a pope had finally managed to visit. Pope Francis had tried for years to come but was stymied first by its economic and political crises, and then by his own health problems.

“For Lebanon, (the visit) means a lot,” said pilgrim Maggie Claudine, who was waiting for Leo at the hospital. “We hope that peace will prevail, and that is what we wish for. We want to live in comfort.”

Leo has sought to bring a message of peace to Lebanon as it copes with the economic crises, the aftermath of Hezbollah’s devastating war with Israel and the fallout from the port blast.

Among those on hand to welcome Leo at the blast site was Lebanon Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed, whose mother was killed. Another was Mireille Khoury, whose 15-year-old son, Elias, was killed.

When Leo approached her, Khoury pointed to the building where they lived across the port, where Elias died as he was hanging out in his room.

Khoury said Lebanon cannot heal from its wounds without justice and accountability. She has been among the relatives who have called for finalizing the investigation that implicated a long list of political, security and judicial officials.

The families have gathered monthly since the explosion to honor the victims and urge the international community to support the probe into the blast, which has been obstructed by officials who have largely refused to cooperate.

“Justice is the basis of building any country,” she told The Associated Press in an interview before the pope arrived in Lebanon. “Our children were killed in their homes. They were killed because someone kept (ammonium) nitrate in the main port of the city near a residential area.”

Khoury said the pope’s prayer and support would bring some relief, but said she would not give up on her pursuit for justice.

“I will not say that this anger will fully just disappear,” Khoury said. “But I think it will give some sort of relaxation of this anger that is in my heart until justice is served.”

The fate of the port’s massive grain silos, which absorbed much of the shock of the explosion, has also been a matter of debate.

The Lebanese government at one point planned to demolish the damaged silos but decided against it after families of the blast’s victims and survivors protested. They have demanded their preservation as a memorial and in case they might contain evidence useful for the judicial probe.

The port, meanwhile, is largely functional again but still hasn’t been fully rebuilt.

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Mroue reported from Jal el-Dib, Lebanon. Associated Press journalist Fadi Tawil in Beirut contributed.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana sued the online gaming platform Roblox on Thursday, alleging the wildly popular site has perpetuated an environment where sexual predators “thrive, unite, hunt and victimize kids.”

The lawsuit, filed in state court by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, alleges that Roblox has failed to implement effective safety measures to protect child users from adult predators.

“Due to Roblox’s lack of safety protocols, it endangers the safety of the children of Louisiana,” Murrill said in a news release. “Roblox is overrun with harmful content and child predators because it prioritizes user growth, revenue, and profits over child safety.”

The company has faced lawsuits and backlash for not doing enough to protect kids on its gaming services. Last month, a lawsuit was filed in Iowa after a 13-year-old girl was allegedly introduced to an adult predator on the platform, then kidnapped and trafficked across multiple states and raped.

In Louisiana, Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said his office has had multiple cases involving Roblox. In one, police allege a man used voice-altering technology to pose as a girl on the platform. Ard said there have yet to be any arrests made related to the gaming site.

Ultimately, Murrill said she believes Roblox should be shut down.

An email seeking comment was sent to the company Thursday.

The free online gaming platform has more than 111 million monthly users. Its website describes Roblox as “the ultimate virtual universe that lets you create, share experiences with friends, and be anything you can imagine.”

Roblox doesn’t allow users to share videos or images in chats and tries to block any personal information, such as phone numbers. However, as with other gaming platforms and social media sites with similar policies, people find ways around such safeguards.

Roblox, which according to its website has “a zero-tolerance policy for the exploitation of minors,” doesn’t allow children under 13 to chat with other users outside of games unless they have explicit parental permission. Because the platform does not encrypt private chat conversations, the company can monitor and moderate them.

However, Murrill said there is no age minimum or substantial age verification process once a user signs up. As a result, young children, teens and adults posing as children can sign up, she said.

The company says on its website that age verification “is a new feature that is currently in testing on Roblox.” Last month, it launched a feature that requires teenagers aged 13 to 17 to send a video selfie to verify their ages if they want to chat freely with people they know, called “trusted connections.”

Amid mounting criticism in recent months, the company has implemented additional measures that it says will keep their young users safe.

In August, Roblox told AP that it was rolling out an artificial intelligence system to help detect early signs of possible child endangerment, such as sexually exploitive language. Roblox said the system led it to submit 1,200 reports of potential attempts at child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the first half of 2025.