SYRIAN "CONDITIONS HAVE ALIGNED FOR GENOCIDE" OF CHRISTIANS; U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS URGE NO ARMS TO REBELS WHILE THE ORTHODOX CHURCH IN AMERICA REMAINS SILENT U.S. Catholic Bishops warn that providing arms to combatants in Syria will only worsen the crisis – both overall and for religious minorities in particular. In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry last Wednesday, two leading U.S. Catholic bishops said there was an “urgent need for a negotiated ceasefire and political solution.” Bishop Richard Pates, who heads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ committee on international justice and peace, and Bishop Gerald Kicanas, chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services, stressed to Kerry the need for a political solution that ends the fighting and creates a future where human rights and religious freedom are respected. “We ask the United States to work with other governments to obtain a ceasefire, initiate serious negotiations, provide impartial and neutral humanitarian assistance, and encourage building an inclusive society in Syria that protects the rights of all its citizens, including Christians and other minorities.” Their appeal echoes an earlier one by a senior Anglican leader in England, Bishop Peter Price of Bath and Wells, who spoke out against the British government push’s for the European Union to allow a Syria arms embargo to lapse, thus paving the way for Britain, France and possibly other E.U. to send arms from August. On Thursday, Pope Francis once again expressed concern about “the people of beloved Syria,” and urged believers of every faith to put an end to the violence. On June 25, religious freedom advocates and a senior State Department human rights official have been invited to testify at a joint hearing of two House Foreign Affairs subcommittees, focusing on the difficulties faced by Syria’s minorities. “According to reports, religious minorities have become victims of religiously-motivated atrocities by factions within Syria,” said Middle East and North Africa subcommittee chairman Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Rep. Chris Smith, who chairs the Subcommittee dealing with Global Human Rights, said Christians and other religious minorities are “viewed with suspicion by both sides of the civil war.” Rep. Smith cited warnings by non-governmental organizations that “conditions have aligned for genocide.” cnsnews/news/article/us-catholic-bishops-dont-arm-syrian-fighters
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 08:26:21 +0000
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