ASIA/SYRIA - Jacques Mourad, Archbishop of Homs: “This is the end of the great history of Christians in Aleppo”

by Gianni Valente

Homs (Agenzia Fides) - “We are really tired. We are really exhausted, and we are also finished, in every sense”. Father Jacques' words, as always, resonate with his faith and his story. Jacques Mourad, a monk of the monastic community of Deir Mar Musa, has been the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs since March 3, 2023, the city where refugees from Aleppo, which has once again fallen into the hands of armed jihadist "rebel groups", continue to arrive. He was born in Aleppo, where he has some of his best memories and dearest companions.
The spiritual son of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio (Roman Jesuit, founder of the monastic community of Deir Mar Musa, who disappeared on 29 July 2013 in Raqqa, the Syrian capital of ISIS at the time), he was kidnapped by a jihadist commando in May 2015 and spent long months being held hostage, first in isolation and then together with more than 150 Christians from Quaryatayn, also taken hostage in the territories conquered by ISIS at the time. This is why Father Jacques knows what he is talking about when he repeats that "we cannot bear all the suffering of the people who arrive here exhausted after 25 hours of travel. They are thirsty, hungry, cold and have nothing left". The words he chooses in his interview with Fides are, as always, a testimony of faith. A faith that also asks: "why all this, why must we endure this suffering?" and that, in the meantime, is zealously concerned about the people fleeing Aleppo, which has been besieged again. "The situation in Homs is dangerous," says Father Jacques, "many refugees from Aleppo, including Christians, came to us via the old road in the first few days after the attack by the armed groups. We were not prepared for this, so we immediately held a meeting with the bishops and set up two reception centers with the help of the Jesuits and the support of 'Œuvre d'Orient' and 'Aid to the Church in Need'. To help the refugees, we need food, mattresses, blankets and diesel." Active charity goes hand in hand with many questions. "The suffering is immeasurable, the Syrians are shocked by what has happened. We all know what happens when an armed group invades a country and the government and the Russians immediately react by bombing the occupied towns and villages... Why is Aleppo being so tormented? Why do they want to destroy this historic, symbolic and important city for the whole world? Why, after 14 years of suffering, misery and death, do the Syrian people still have to pay for it? Why are we so abandoned in this world, in this unbearable injustice?" The Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs also stresses "the responsibility of foreign powers, America, Russia, Europe..." "They all bear direct responsibility for what happened in Aleppo," he stresses. A "crime", Father Jacques continues, "that represents a danger for the entire region, for Hama, for the Jazira region", and for which "the direct responsibility lies not only with the regime or with the armed rebel groups, but with the international community" and with the "political games that everyone is playing in this region". Father Jacques, who has launched catechism courses for children and young people in his diocese as a real starting point for the Christian communities after the painful years of war, is aware of the feelings that are now rising in the hearts of so many brothers and sisters in faith: "After the action of these armed groups", he tells Fides, "the Christians of Aleppo will be convinced that they cannot stay in Aleppo. That it is over for them. That they no longer have any reason to stay. In Aleppo they are trying to bring about the end of the rich, magnificent and unique history of the Christians of Aleppo". (Agenzia Fides, 3/12/2024)

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oriental churches

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refugees

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