ASIA/SYRIA - Prayer campaign to support the Geneva 2 peace and reconciliation Conference

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - The leaders of the Christian Churches in Syria have launched a renewed campaign of prayer to support peace efforts in view of the Geneva 2 Conference, calling for the end of the war and concrete steps towards national reconciliation.
In a message sent to Fides, Gregory III Laham, the Melkite Patriarch of Damascus, invites the Syrian Christians to gather in prayer for the success of the Conference, while calling on all Christians in the world to join this intention: "Let us pray for true reconciliation in Geneva II", says the message sent to Fides, noting that "the key to the success of Geneva II is national reconciliation based on faith, on fundamental human rights".
From the Geneva 2 Conference the establishment of a "transitional government" is expected that could include representatives of the incumbent government and representatives of opposition groups. Among the many difficulties that the Geneva 2 Conference has to deal with, is to know and decide who truly represents the people of Syria and which countries should be invited to participate.
As noted in a statement sent to Fides by the organization "Middle East Concern" (MEC), with offices throughout the Middle East, "violence continues to rage in many parts of Syria, causing death, injury and trauma, with severe restrictions for access to food and medical care. Humanitarian crisis is now a problem as much as the violence of the conflict". MEC recalls the scourge of kidnappings and specific cases of persecution, such as "religiously motivated violence against Christians". The NGO invites all the faithful in the world to join the Syrian Christians in prayer so that the Conference puts an end to the crisis in Syria and for delegates to consider the needs and welfare of the Syrian people a priority. The wish expressed is that also the urgency of the millions of Syrians displaced within the country or in neighboring countries are taken into account. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 21/01/2014)


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