Vatican nuncio to Damascus on Syria’s descent into hell
Damascus (AsiaNews) - Each Syrian dawn brings with it a fresh list of deaths (real or
imagined) and proclamations of victories (real or imagined). Yesterday
the rebels celebrated their downing of a military helicopter in the district of
Jobar in Damascus.
The
government, for its part, claims to have brought Daraya under control. The
rebels accuse the regular troops of having massacred at least 320 people,
including women and children. Video footage
- unverified - shows bloodied and burned bodies. The
government accuses the terrorists of having carries out the massacre. UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an independent inquiry into the
slaughter. And
as the Free Syrian Army seeks more support from the West, Assad continues to
proclaim war against a "foreign conspiracy" which aims to change the
balance of power in the region. Meanwhile,
mounting evidence confirms the presence of al Qaeda fighters in Syria, who have carried out "66 operations",
half of them in Damascus
alone, in the period since June.
In
this distressing situation, comes the news that the offices of the Greek-catholic
bishop in Aleppo,
Msgr. Jean-Clement
Jeanbart, were looted. The
bishop has fled to Lebanon.
On
all this, AsiaNews asked the opinion of Msgr. Mario Zenari, Apostolic
Nuncio in Damascus.
Your
Excellency, what can you tell us of the reports of killings and massacres?
In Syria
things are bad, very bad. I
used to think of this situation as a tunnel, at the end of which we would
eventually see some light. But
now I say that Syria
is descending into hell and when you go that way, all hope of light can be lost.
Of
course, history is always in the hands of God and anything can happen and this
descent can be slowed down.
My
invitation to the Christian communities in Syria and abroad is this: the
weapons are causing destruction and casualties. We must use the weapon of
prayer. Just
yesterday I spoke to a pastor who lives in Aleppo, alongside his faithful. And
he said: I suggested to my faithful not to lose time in the evening watching
television, but to meet and say the rosary for Syria.
The UN Security
Council is divided. Yesterday
France criticized Russia and China for their defense of Assad
... The
international community seems to be just standing by and watching, while fundamentalists
gain ground and the Arab countries of the South make their moves...
The
history of this conflict is full of gaffes and contradictions, made both by Syria and the
international community. Even
the ambassadors here in Damascus
are beginning to realize that the analysis made before have all gone up in
smoke: it is difficult to define the conflict, and all hypotheses are null and
void.
In
the beginning, the international community viewed the riots in Syria as another chapter in the Arab Spring, as
something akin to what happened in Tunisia,
Egypt or Libya. Instead
Syria
is something unique and they are playing with fire, in a complex conflict, with
many delicate components. And
there is the fear that the consequences will become even more tragic and
unimaginable.
Excellence,
are Christians seen as a target in this conflict? Many
people wonder about the fate of Christians, but it is difficult to distinguish
their fate from the collective fate of all Syrians.
We
must not exploit easy sympathies and feelings, or talk about religious
conflicts. The
Christian community here suffers the same as everyone else. Indeed,
I must say that in some cases, here and there, you'll find that some violence -
too easily branded as "confessional" - has its roots in family hatreds,
past injustices, etc. ....
What
about the thousands and thousands of cases in which precisely those who are Christian
are saved? I
tell people the facts and Christians stopped at checkpoints, by rebels or
soldiers, are allowed to pass because they show their identity card on which their
religion is registered. And
maybe, in this same place these rebels or soldiers have killed other groups. The
impression is that the media in the West are exploiting clichés. Caution should be exercised. What
is important is that Christians work in Syria, along with other
denominations, through our identity, by being committed to non-violence, human
rights. The
future will be what God wants, but it depends on us to build it.
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31/03/2017 10:25
