Scottish Catholic Observer

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.

In an interview with Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need, Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa said that he is against foreign intervention in Syria, a country in the midst of a violent crackdown on anti-government protestors, who are opposed to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“We have seen what that led to in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Fr Pizzaballa (above, left of centre, taking part in a Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem’s old city) 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 Fr Pizzaballa, Christians in Syria 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. He said there were still threats facing believers, however. “I don’t want to play down the potential danger for Christians,” he said. “There are extreme Islamic groups active in the country.”

Asked if he considered the Syrian Church leaders’ 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.”