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Obama Administration Considers Military Action: Pray for the Christians of Syria and Pray for Peace

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The news out of Syria shocks the conscience of anyone who still has one. However, the solutions, at least from a geopolitical perspective, are not necessarily the ones being considered by the Obama Administration.

As Catholics we need to be very careful as we watch the news reports concerning the situation in Syria. The Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo, S.J. told Vatican Radio that  "If there is an armed intervention, that would mean, I believe, a world war. That risk has returned." Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate offered sobering words concerning what appears to be the impending military action by the US in Syria stating "Once again, as was the case in Iraq, the United States is acting as an international executioner. Once again, thousands of lives will be sacrificed on the altar of an imaginary democracy." He warned that among them will be "Christians, about whose fate no one cares." We must be numbered among the ones who do care about their fate. Pray for the Christians in Syria. Pray for peace in Syria. .

P>ALEPPO, Syria (Catholic Online) - Like much of the Nation, I listened attentively to news reports today. The situation in Syria seems ready to explode. The US Stock Market reflects the jitters gripping much of the Nation. The atrocities committed against innocent civilians continue unabated. In some political circles, the drumbeats of war grow louder. Yet, the overwhelming majority of Americans are reticent about entering into another military action in the Middle East, especially with no clear mission defined. I am numbered among them.

I have written regularly about the plight of Christians in Syria. Just last week, on August 23, 2013, nine Christians were killed in Central Syria. The Jesuit priest, Fr Paolo Dall'Oglio, has been missing since July 29, 2013 and it is not clear whether he is alive or dead. A Reuters news report by Oliver Holmes and Alexander Dziadosz entitled Special Report: Syria's Islamists seize control as moderates dither is must reading for anyone who wants to know what is really happening in Syria as the Obama Administration makes choices which may make the matter worse for Christians in that ancient biblical land. It was released in June of 2013.

The news out of Syria shocks the conscience of anyone who still has one. However, the solutions, at least from a geopolitical perspective, are not necessarily the ones being considered by the Obama Administration. There is no doubt that the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is committing atrocities against the Syrian people.  The allegations that they have used chemical weapons against their own people is causing swords to rattle across the political aisle as members of both major political parties have finally found something they might agree on.

However, much of the opposition to Bashar al-Assad is composed of Islamists who may be far worse than the regime. In the crosshairs of this escalating violence are the Christians, Orthodox, Catholic and protestant. In April, Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim, the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Aleppo, were kidnapped. They were traveling from the Turkish border to Aleppo, Syria. There has been a plague of kidnappings.Among the strongest voices in the international outcry calling for the release of the Bishops is Pope Francis, a champion of peace who is also well aware of the dangers of militant, extremist versions of Islam. He referred to the kidnapping as "a dramatic confirmation of the tragic situation in which the Syrian population and its Christian community is living."

Like most of my readers, the continual images coming out of the Syrian tragedy trouble me greatly. The horrors inflicted upon men, women and children by a regime which seems to have no conscience continually fill our television, computer and smart phone screens with an almost surreal regularity.However, the infliction of these wounds and the multiplication of murderous acts is not limited to the horrid acts perpetrated by current regime in Syria. Some who claim to be combating the regime seem just as hell bent on killing, maiming and inflicting evil upon the people of Syria, and, in particular, upon the Christians of that ancient land. Our Christian faith precedes in time and history the presence of Islam in Syria.

Evil like this knows no bounds. It must be exposed by truth and then opposed by the only force able to vanquish it, the love of the God whose heart breaks for the victims; the God who is fully revealed in the Sacred Heart of His beloved Son which was pierced by the soldiers spear on Golgotha's Hill. We MUST add the Christians in Syria to our daily, focused prayer. They are our brethren and need our prayer. They also need our solidarity and action. In the face of all that is happening in the Middle East, we must pay attention to the plight of the Christians in that ancient land which has such a rich place in our Christian history.  I try to call regular attention to the plight of our Christian brethren who suffer such intense persecution, precisely because they remain faithful to the ancient faith.

The situation facing Christians in Syria is urgent. The News Service of the Pontifical Mission Society, Agenzia Fides, reported last year that thousands of Christian refugees fled the City of Homs and other areas in Syria as the conflict between government forces and Syrian rebels intensifies. These fierce, bloody battles have left these Christians extremely vulnerable. While they are in need of our prayers, our solidarity with them must lead us to pay attention to the responses to their needs and the foreign policy of the Obama Administration. They are our brethren.  

The Christian refugees were driven from their homes by the ongoing war and bloodshed in Syria between forces still loyal to the current regime and a combination of rebel forces which seeks to overthrow it. They joined the approximately 150,000 other Christians who are already living under virtual siege in the forty villages referred to as the "Valley of the Christians" in western Syria. The Valley of Wadi al Nasara has been the site of a ferocious assault being waged by rebel militia against government forces. The rebel militia settled in a fortress named "Krak des Chevaliers". It was once used by the Crusaders in their battles with militant Muslims in centuries past.

This former Crusader castle was occupied by rebel forces who sahre the militant Islamist views of the Muslims whom the Crusaders fought. They engaged in fierce, bloody battles with troops loyal to Syrian Dictator/President Bashar al-Assad. From there they launched their relentless attacks. The report insinuated that the Christians were collateral victims in the conflict. Fides reported, "The Christian civilians are "collateral victims" that are affected without any care! In recent days, a rain of fire hit the village of Howache, destroying several houses, killing three young Christians. And, in recent weeks, the Christian community in the valley had already counted nine other deaths."

A local Orthodox priest told Fides News Agency that, "Christians - - are very fragile and they want to be neutral, but today our valley is beset by violence and instability that confuses and frightens us. Violence covers and nullifies everything: we are not able to be instruments of dialogue and cohesion, as we want to be." The priest asked the warring parties to "not hit civilians gratuitously, to respect the neutrality of the Christians for their faith and identity, they want to be a factor of reconciliation."

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The castle occupied by the rebel troops was built in the 11th century by a Muslim emir. It was later rebuilt by the Knights Hospitallers, whom we know as the Knights of Malta. The Fides report was charitable in its assessment that Christians were being killed unintentionally. Many other reports painted a much different picture. I find them to be much more credible. Christians are being singled out for brutal treatment by Islamists in Syria. 

It is important for us to remember that Christians in Syria were there long before the Muslims. We have a two thousand year history in the Middle East. Syria was the home of many monks, mystics and missionaries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of the most beautiful of the Patristic writings were penned by Syrian Saints and the Liturgy and hymnody of the early Church was enriched by the worship of those same wonderful saints. Christians in Syria now make up less than 10% of the population. They are suffering  intense persecution. A 2012 report in the British newspaper, The Independent entitled, The plight of Syria's Christians gave a very different assessment than we read in the news in the United States. The reporter, Kim Sengupta, interviewed the Haddads, a Christian family fleeing Homs:

"We left because they were trying to kill us," said 18-year-old Noura Haddad. She is now staying with relations in the town of Zahle in the Bekaa Valley: "They wanted to kill us because we were Christians. They were calling us Kaffirs, even little children saying these things. Those who were our neighbors turned against us. At the end, when we ran away, we went through balconies. We did not even dare go out on the street in front of our house. I've kept in touch with the few Christian friends left back home, but I cannot speak to my Muslim friends any more. I feel very sorry about that."

Melkite Catholic Archbishop Archbishop Issam John Darwish told the Independent that the increase of violence against Christians is the work of Jihadists who have joined the ranks of the rebel troops. He stated, "I have raised this with officials in the West, they must bring peace. The jihadis will not stop here, the war will spread to Europe. What will England be like in ten or 15 years?"

In October of 2012, the body of a beloved Greek Orthodox priest, Fr Fadi Haddad, 43, was found along the side of a road. He had been mutilated. His eyes were gouged out. A young mother and close family friend told Aid to the Church in Need: "My family and friends very much feel under threat. People from the area have said that extremists have gone through the streets shouting 'Alawites to the grave, Christians to Beirut'. They want to kick us out. They say that if Christians refuse to leave they will end up in the grave like the Alawites." (a Shia sect)

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"Nobody seems to care what is happening to us Christians in Syria. The government we had in the past was bad but at least we were safe. At least we could walk the streets. You'd never think you might be bombed by extremists. Not anymore. Now it's very scary. Now they are bombing churches. Look at what has happened to our churches in places like Aleppo and Homs. The extremists threaten us Christians when we want to celebrate major feasts like Christmas and Easter. They don't want us in the area at all."

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim presided over Fr Haddad's funeral Liturgy. He had ordained him to the Holy Priesthood in 1995. He called the slain priest a "martyr of reconciliation and harmony". He added: "We strongly condemn this brutal and barbaric act against civilians, the innocent and the men of God who strive to be apostles of peace." A bomb went off during Fr. Haddad's funeral. That tells you the real plight of our Christian brethren in Syria.

The horrors inflicted upon men, women and children by a regime which seems to have no conscience continually fill our media with an almost surreal regularity. However, the infliction of wounds and murderous behavior is not limited to the current regime in Syria. Some who claim to be combating the regime are controlled by Jihadists with evil intent against Christians.

Christians preceded Muslims in calling Syria their home. They must not be forced to leave this ancient and holy land. We are living in a new missionary age. Whether in the West, where the memory of Christian influence fades under increasing persecution inflicted by rabid secularism and godless materialism and nihilism, or in the East, which bleeds under the overt persecution from Jihadists and despots, the challenge we face grows daily and cries out for both prayer and action. 

We are called to prophetically bear witness to the Truth as fully revealed in Jesus Christ. We are called to "bear one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal. 6:2) As we evaluate the various conflicts in the Middle East it is important to be informed by news sources which paint the full picture of what is happening. Catholic Online is committed to being one of those sources.

I remember the joyous celebration of the installation of Pope Francis in Rome on March 19, 2013.  However, March 19, 2013 brought another historic event to mind; one which must be seriously reconsidered - and from which we must learn the lessons which desperately need to be learned. It marked the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the US intervention in Iraq referred to as the Second Iraq War. Fifty six people were killed that day in a series of deadly bombings in Baghdad and beyond. The violence and the consequences of the intervention ten years ago continue.

Reports filled the media commemorating the ten year Anniversary of the Second Iraqi conflict. One of them, entitled People turned on Christians': Persecuted Iraqi minority reflects on life after Saddam   touched upon one of the most underreported stories of the Iraq War, the dramatic increase in the persecution of Christians in Iraq since the US intervention ten years ago.

I have written numerous articles seeking to call attention to our persecuted Christian brethren in Iraq. Their plight has grown worse since the intervention on March 19, 2003. Before the intervention on March 19, 2003, I disturbed some colleagues and friends by publicly opposing intervention in what came to be called Iraq II. I had supported the first intervention in Iraq, after the Kuwaitis requested our assistance against an unjust aggressor named Saddam Hussein. 

However, in light of the teaching of the Catholic Church, and based upon my own efforts to inform my conscience by it, I opposed the Second Iraq War. I even contributed a chapter to a book dedicated to such opposition. I concluded back then that the decision to engage in what was called a pre-emptive war with Iraq failed to meet the conditions, commonly referred to as the Just War theory, summarized in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§2309):

"the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; there must be serious prospects of success; the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated.The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the "just war" doctrine. The evaluation of these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good."

I came to the conclusion that the very notion of a pre-emptive war was antithetical to this analysis. The determination as to whether any war can be justified is rooted in the broader understanding of self defense. The entry of the United States into Iraq on March 19, 2003 was not an act of self defense. Neither was it a legitimate response to the horror unleashed against our Nation on September 11, 2001.

In spite of what some sincere Catholics - whom I respected - sought to say back then, the leaders of the Catholic Church were overwhelming in their unified opposition to beginning the Second Iraq war. They were unanimous in their conviction that no attack was imminent, and, as a result, war was far from justifiable.

Deep reservations were raised by numerous Bishops' Councils; then Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State; Cardinal Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; and most ardently by Blessed John Paul II, the Holy Father back then, who clearly stated that not only was war a human failure but that specific war was unjustified.

After the intervention, as time progressed, my opposition to Iraq 2 became moot. The War had become such a debacle and the brave men and women of our heroic Armed Forces deserved our unflagging support. Those who initially supported the second Iraq war and those who opposed it, agreed that we could not abandon the Iraqi people in their great hour of need. The Holy See expressed its continuing concern for the people of Iraq after the intervention. Sadly, the situation in Iraq is till not really improved, especially for the Christians of Iraq.

As Catholics, we need to be very careful as we watch the news reports concerning the situation in Syria. The Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo, S.J. told Vatican Radio that  "If there is an armed intervention, that would mean, I believe, a world war. That risk has returned."

Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate offered sobering words concerning what appears to be the impending military action by the US in Syria stating "Once again, as was the case in Iraq, the United States is acting as an international executioner. Once again, thousands of lives will be sacrificed on the altar of an imaginary democracy." He warned that among them will be "Christians, about whose fate no one cares."

We must be numbered among the ones who do care about their fate. Pray for the Christians in Syria. Pray for peace in Syria. 

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