Syria expels Italian Jesuit who sought interfaith harmony
November 29, 2011
The Syrian government has ordered Father Paolo dall’Oglio, a Jesuit who has sought to build harmony between Christians and Muslims, to leave the nation.
“I've been here 30 years, I have worked at the Christian-Muslim dialogue, I have worked to create a monastic community dedicated to the service of harmony between Islam and Christianity, which is a priority worldwide,” said the Jesuit, who has criticized the regime’s violent crackdown on protestors.
“During the latest, painful crisis, we are committed to freedom of opinion, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression and we are trying to work, to cooperate for a progressive access to a mature democracy, for the emergence of a civil society, a dialogue that ensures national unity, the protection of diversity and the enhancement of specificity, a democracy without a primacy of one group over others, rather we are trying to nurture the building of a national consensus.”
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Further information:
- Syria orders Italian Jesuit peace-maker to leave (Vatican Radio)
- Italian abbot says being expelled from Syria (AFP)
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