Maronite Prelate in Syria: Only Project We Have Is Building a Bigger Cemetery

Archbishop Nassar Calls For Christian Solidarity, Ecumenical Collaboration as War Rages On

Vatican City, November 22, 2013 (Zenit.org)

Christians in Damascus are clinging to hope despite the rising death toll in the ongoing conflict in Syria.

In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar of Damascus pleaded for support and solidarity to Christians in Syria.

“There has been war [in Syria] for three years, and it is destroying the whole country,” he said. “The people feel lost and without support.”

As of now, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights have released figures stating that 110,371 people have died in the conflict, many of them innocent civilians, including women and children. Archbishop Nassar told Aid to the Church in Need that the only project the Maronite Church has is to “build a bigger cemetery.”
The Maronite prelate expressed his hope for a brighter future for the Syrian population and will focus on rebuilding efforts when the war is over, especially in collaboration with other faiths in the region.

“For 14 centuries we have lived in its shadow. If we want to continue to live in the future, then it can only be together. That is a great challenge, but we can succeed in it,” he said.

Archbishop Nassar called on the world’s Christians to continue to pray for Syria.

Source: http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/maronite-prelate-in-syria-only-project-we-have-is-building-a-bigger-cemetery