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Syria: Holy Land Custodian speaks out against military intervention


Jerusalem: Palm Sunday 2012 procession to old city

Jerusalem: Palm Sunday 2012 procession to old city

The Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land has spoken about his opposition to international military action in Syria - saying the country's Christians are afraid of a repeat of the violence that led to an exodus of believers in Iraq.

Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa said: "I am against foreign intervention. We've seen what that led to in Iraq and Afghanistan." In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Fr Pizzaballa explained his opposition to military intervention in Syria by the international community.

Since the 16th century the 'Custody of the Holy Land' - as the Franciscan province of the Middle East is called - has covered Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, modern-day Jordan, Cyprus and Rhodes. The order maintains a whole range of charitable institutions in Syria in towns including Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia.

Fr Pizzaballa said: "The West should certainly apply diplomatic and political pressure, but avoid the use of military force. Syria is currently in a kind of civil war. It's not called that, but that's what it is. And the Christians are caught between all fronts."

According to the Custodian Syria's Christians are caught between the government, which had traditionally supported them, and a fragmented opposition - "which it is still not yet precisely known who they are".

Fr Pizzaballa added that the country's mentality has been shaped, to date at least, by its ethnic and religious diversity and that Christians were not the targets of the opposition.

But he said that there were still threats facing believers: "I don't want to play down the potential danger for Christians. There are extreme Islamic groups active in the country."

Asked if he considered the Syrian church leaders's policy of preserving the status quo to be the right course, Fr Pizzaballa said: "I well understand the tried and tested approach. But it has no future.

"Because like it or not, the regime has no future. But I am certainly aware that many are afraid of the situation once it is deposed."

Source: ACN

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