A Catholic Archbishop in Syria, who was previously taken captive by ISIS and was recently honoured by the Vatican for his “dedication to peace and reconciliation”, has warned that the church is “dying” in the troubled country.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad late last year, there were concerns that the new Islamist-dominated regime would spell the end for Syria’s historic Christian community. The new government has claimed it is inclusive and respects the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
However, in a country that has suffered well over a decade of civil war and sectarian violence, there is no shortage of armed groups, and the official government has struggled to prevent continuing violence.
In March hundreds of Alawites were massacred by an armed group, while in July fighting broke out between the Druze and Bedouins in Suwayda and earlier this month fighting broke out between government forces and Kurds in Aleppo, following the first parliamentary elections since the takeover of power.
Since the civil war began in 2011, its estimated that the Christian population of Syria has dropped from 2.1 million to around 540,000 in 2024.
Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Al-Nabek told Aid to the Church in Need, “None of the efforts by the universal Church or the local Church managed to stem the tide of the exodus, because the causes are not related to the Church, but rather to the country’s disastrous political and economic situation.
“You can’t stop a wave of migration without first establishing a well-defined political government model in Syria and a solid security system. The Syrian people continue to suffer violence, reprisals, and tragic and regrettable events that undermine all the international claims and popular demands to put an end to this bloodbath.”
The Archbishop warned that Syria was becoming increasingly like Afghanistan in its levels of violence and that it was unlikely that the country was on course for an age of freedom.
Archbishop Mourad also said a possible peace deal with Israel, in which Syria would cede the Golan Heights, was very concerning, as it would “deprive the inhabitants of Damascus of water sources and enslave them”.
“Who would accept a treaty such as this? Where are the human rights values that should help ensure that decisions are fair for both parties?”
Mourad was kidnapped by ISIS in 2015 and held by the terrorist group for five months. During his time in captivity, Mourad was tortured and subjected to a mock execution, but refused to renounce his faith.
Earlier this month he was presented with the St John Paul II Award at a special ceremony at the Vatican.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, chair of the award committee, said the award was “in recognition of his lifetime of service, his witness of faith, Christian love, interreligious dialogue, and his dedication to peace and reconciliation.”
