Pope laments lack of concern for Syria

June 02, 2014

Addressing participants in a meeting of Catholic aid organizing working in and around Syria, Pope Francis lamented the “globalization of indifference” to the war there.

“A year ago we met to reaffirm the commitment of the Church in this crisis and to launch an appeal for peace in Syria,” he told participants in the meeting organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. But the crisis, with its “daily victims,” “untold sufferings,” and “thousands of refugees,” has not been resolved.

The work of Catholic charitable organizations is a “faithful expression of God's love,” he continued, as he told those present to work closely with local Church leaders.

The Pontiff offered an “appeal to the consciences of the protagonists of the conflict, global institutions, and public opinion,” as he called for negotiations focused on humanitarian assistance and the common good of Syria and its inhabitants, including refugees who have fled and who have the right to return home.

“I am thinking in particular of the dear Christian communities,” he said. Their “survival in the entire Middle East is a profound concern of the universal Church.”

 

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Further information:

• Messaggio del Santo Padre ai partecipanti all’Incontro di coordinamento tra gli organismi caritativi cattolici operanti nel contesto della crisi siriana (Holy See Press Office)
• The Pope: Silence Weapons in Syria (VIS)