Pope Calls for Dialogue in Syria
Demonstrators gather during a protest against Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad near Homs Feb. 13. Intense artillery and rocket fire by government forces 11 Feb. on residential areas in Homs left at least 200 people dead, opposition activists said. (photo: CNS/handout via Reuters)
14 Feb 2012 – by Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As a sectarian conflict
in Syria intensified, Pope Benedict XVI called on all
Syrians to begin a process of dialogue and reminded the
government of its duty to recognize its citizens’ legitimate demands.
In Beirut, the patriarch of the Syriac Catholic
Church warned against toppling Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad, calling for dialogue to solve the crisis in the
country.
“Our fear since the beginning of the bloody crisis
in Syria was that the refusal of any sort of dialogue
between the regime and the opposition will surely create a
state of chaos that will definitely lead to a civil war,”
Syriac Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan told Catholic
News Service.
“The world must sustain all efforts for a dialogue
to solve problems and uphold the democracy in a realistic
and gradual way. Forcing the departure of the Syrian
president will be a step for a civil war based on
confessionalism,” the patriarch said.
In St. Peter“s Square at the Vatican Feb. 12, the
pope expressed his concern for “the dramatic and
increasing episodes of violence in Syria.“
At the end of his Angelus prayer, he said he was
praying for everyone who has been killed, injured and
affected by a conflict that is “increasingly worrisome.”
“I renew an urgent appeal to put an end to the
violence and bloodshed,” he said.
“I invite everyone, especially Syria’s political
authorities, to favor the path of dialogue, reconciliation
and a commitment to peace” he said.
“It’s urgent to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the various sectors of the nation, as well as to the wishes of the international community, which are
concerned about the common good of the whole country
and the region,” he said.
A nationwide uprising against al-Assad’s
government began last March, but Syrian security forces
stepped up efforts to defeat the opposition movement,
especially in Homs, a center of resistance.
Intense artillery and rocket fire by government
forces Feb. 11 on residential areas in Homs left at least
200 people dead, opposition activists said.
Bomb blasts in Aleppo Feb. 10 left at least 28
people dead and 200 others wounded.
The United Nations has not provided an updated
death toll since it estimated in December that more than
5,000 people had been killed since the violence began last
March.
Patriarch Younan, noting that Syria is among the
most secularized countries in the Middle East, warned that
a confessional war in Syria would be far worse than a
political one.
Tags: Syria Middle East Christians Pope Benedict XVI Vatican Arab Spring/Awakening