Syria: Cardinal Gugerotti asks that Christians be protagonists of the future

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, expressed his desire that Christians “are protagonists” of the future of Syria. The purple will remain in the country until January 29, sent by Pope Francis, “to bring his hug and blessing to Catholics” and boost national reconstruction.

“The new Syria is still in gestation, but when it is born, it will need a good midwife and this is a task that corresponds to the Christians,” said the cardinal in Aleppo, where he was received by the faithful of the Church of San Francisco and officiated the Mass Sunday, According to Vatican News.

Before the war, Aleppo was the third most important Christian city in the Arab world. Today, the 300,000 local Christians were reduced to less than 30,000. Despite the challenges and difficulties presented by Syrian reality, Christians, ”added the papal envoy – should not be paralyzed, but to find a way to contribute to the construction of a new country.

“‘Being a single body’ means that all members have the same importance. You cannot be selfish and this is the sense of being a Christian, ”he said in his homily. In the Franciscan parish, the Cardinal celebrated some victims of war violence.

Refugees return

Subsequently, he met at the scene with Filippo Grandi, high commissioner of the United Nations for refugees, who said that “since December 8, At least 210,000 refugees have returned to Syria and some 600,000 internal displaced people have returned to their homes. ”

Upon returning, the refugees “meet a country of knees”, where there are no basic services such as electricity, food supply and where job opportunities are void.

“That is why it is even more important than the international community and donor countries support this return process to be durable and to give dignity to these people. To those who, not to be forced to leave again, should not be deprived of the essential, ”said Grandi.

The United Nations official questioned the effectiveness of international economic sanctions imposed against the country of the Middle East, pointing out that “they have a negative impact on the population” and advocating because they are raised “because they imposed themselves on a regime that no longer exists” .

“There is no doubt that prudence is needed when doing certain things, making sure that the reconstruction process goes in the right direction. But if the sanctions are maintained, there will be no investments, or infrastructure, or services. For the future of Syria, this issue must be addressed, ”he added.

Grandi said that “Syria is in transition” and that the political process, headed by the new government – conformed by some actors that belonged to jihadist groups -, “will undoubtedly take time.”

“If we want to guide it in the good direction (to the political process), that is, towards respect for the rights and acceptance of all communities, including Christians and Alauitas, we must support the population,” Grandi said.

A prudent optimism

Christian leaders in Syria have expressed their willingness to work together with the provisional government, local sources point to the Pontifical Foundation helps the Church in need (ACN). The Cirttsian community, they say, refuses to be classified as a minority that needs special treatment, such as “if they were second category.”

“Communities leaders do not want to define themselves as minorities, because otherwise they could lose their representation in the new Constitution and state institutions. They want to emphasize equal rights, ”said one of the sources.

After the overthrow of Bashar Al-Valsad, last December, the Transition Government claimed to respect religious freedom, although some incidents in various places of Syria have made the Christian community “take these guarantees with caution,” explains the Pontifical Foundation.

“Damascus is in the spotlight, which presses the ancient rebels to be more peaceful and maintain the positive image they have. However, there are still individual incidents, such as asking women to wear the veil, or to tell men and women who do not walk together if they are not relatives. The same happens in Aleppo, ”ACN sources reveal. The situation varies depending on each place.

“In Homs and Hama, the situation is more difficult. It is a mixed area, with ten religious confessions living in the same place, and the neighborhoods are mixed, which makes things difficult. It was also a difficult situation during the war. People avoid being on the street after 5:00 p.m. There are jihadists in the streets, who use megaphones to ask people to become Islam and tell women to cover themselves with the veil. Fear is really very pronounced, Christians cannot work, many stay at home, ”they said.

In some cases, Christians who have refused to become Islam confiscated all their belongings. After the fall of Al-Valsad, the faithful expect a better future for Syria, an intention for which they pray every day.