ASIA/SYRIA - Fr. Dall'Oglio’s appeal for peace during Ramadan

Monday, 8 July 2013

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Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "The holy month of Ramadan is a time of penance and conversion to God and is a time to ask our brothers and sisters’ forgiveness. We ask the grace of repentance for everyone. We ask it while claiming respect for law and justice": So says the appeal for peace spread by the Jesuit Fr. Paolo dall'Oglio for the end of the conflict in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries: those are conflicts that exist from Pakistan to Lebanon, "as well as those of ideological confessional nature that are taking place from Egypt to Morocco, costing enormous losses and disfiguring the face of Islam". The message, sent to Fides Agency, explains: "Believers in God reject the bloody conflict and the ongoing fierce fighting between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, who together form the only umma of Islam."
"In this context - says the Jesuit - Syria has become one of the main battlefields of the conflict, thus diverting the course of the revolution which was started by the people more than two years ago to obtain freedom, dignity and democracy for the Syrian, against a regime that has subjected the entire population to the power of torture, intimidation". Noting "the immense sacrifices endured by the Syrian people" and the strong "regional and international interference in this painful civil war," Fr. Dall'Oglio condemns the attitude of some countries that think only of "its particular geopolitical interests."
"There are many, however, that thank God, are convinced that what people lose in Syria is lost for the entire humanity, and are willing to support, with their money, presence and commitment to the realization of civil peace in the region of Damascus", notes the text. "In fact, the ongoing conflict in Syria does not oppose Sunnis and Shiites - it continues - but rather those who believe that God created free human beings, and those who believe that life is as an arena for the conquest of power on the basis of rivalry and special interests".
"The month of Ramadan is not only for Muslims but for all people of good will and good intention.
In a spirit of spiritual solidarity, a large number of Christians, Jews and members of other religions, will participate in the holy month of Ramadan, interceding the Merciful, the Almighty, so that he will grant the grace of unity and harmony to the Muslim community".
The appeal ends with a message of solidarity towards "prisoners, hostages, refugees, people suffering, victims of destructions" and to those who "claim freedom, justice, equality and the right to a dignified life, in a transparent manner and in truth". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 08/07/2013)