Shipwreck - Lenten Letter of Syrian Archbishop Samir Nassar

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Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar writes from Damascus, Syria:

The war in Syria is the cruelest seen in the world since the Second World War...

With the diminishment of violence an economic disaster has overtaken the people: they feel that the little hope, which they had in life, is gradually fading away and that suffering appears to be all too present.

Such a chaotic scene:-

1) 950,000 families living with death.

2) More than 200,000 people have disappeared - among them two Bishops and four priests - and a nightmare for those parents and friends who do not know what has happened to their loved ones.

3) 13,000,000 refugees from different areas who live in misery and uncertainty.

4) 95,000 people with amputated hands and feet or paralysis living in a country, which is unable to cope with these problems, which are both psychological and medical.

5) Innumerable dwellings damaged or destroyed; ruins everywhere like dead towns, which have become camps for refugees and the homeless.

6) The situation is such that the people are choked by blockades and sanctions, thus limiting the help they can receive from outside.

The collapse of the value of the local currency and galloping inflation coupled with the Covid 19 virus now make up the present situation.

Faced with these scenes of desolation the Church in Syria does not remain a spectator: she has facilitated a Synod of Renewal, which aims at following the light of the Holy Spirit in many ways. These are marked by efforts in promoting health care, education, a pastoral program for the young, family guidance, and advice and help for troubled families; these are consistent with the help given to those who have been affected the most materially by the tragic disintegration of the country. Evenings of Adoration figure highly in the search of what the Spirit is saying.

How quick and easy it is to destroy a country but so difficult and slow to rebuild it. What a terrible and deep wound!

"Master, don't you care that we are about to perish?" Mark 4, 35

Even if the world forgets Syria the Lord watches over it and will see that it will not sink and disappear.

Lent 2021

+ Samir NASSAR Maronite Archbishop of Damascus

Antonia Moffat writes: If you would like to support any projects of Archbishop Samir Nassar, any donations should be sent through Aid to the Church in Need UK …. marked for the ACN aid projects of Archbishop Samir Nassar. See: https://acnuk.org/