ASIA/SYRIA - A priest: "People ask: can the Church mediate to favor reconciliation?"

Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - "In an atmosphere of prevailing pessimism, while the population suffers at an economic and social level, people ask us: can the Church play a mediating role between the antagonists, for reconciliation?": Is what a Syrian Catholic priest in Damascus, who requested anonymity, says in a heartfelt testimony sent to Fides,.
The priest says: "In recent months the situation has become increasingly tense. The faithful are afraid to go to church. The scarcity of fuel, gas and electricity, sharpens the daily suffering. Unemployment among young people, hope for our future, increases. The exodus of Christians of the East is feared as a result of increasing violence and religious radicalism. And what future would the Church have without youth? ".
"The population is pessimistic. The economic and trade block- he continued - primarily affects poor people: inflation rises, people are unable to buy basic necessities. Many decide to flee the country, but the road for Lebanon is dangerous, and the path is fraught with obstacles. "
"It is hard to lift the morale of the faithful: we had many Iraqi refugees, to which one has to add the new internally displaced Syrians, from combat zones. The confessional has become a 'Wailing Wall', where we listen to the pain of the faithful on their sad fate," continues the painful testimony sent to Fides.
The priest concludes with a question: "Next year will we still be here? The question arises, and finds an answer only in the heart of God and in Christian hope. We join the voice of the Holy Father in seeking dialogue, forgiveness, peace and prayers of all Christians throughout the world". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 16/3/2012)