On Sunday, Pope Francis appealed for peace in Syria during his weekly Angelus address. The Pope’s comment come at a tragic time where reports of citizens attacked by chemical weapons believed to have been used by the government to quell the rebellion.
Although the Syrian government has promised to allow UN inspectors to investigate, it is believed by many that credible evidence will not be found if the government of Bashir al-Assad has tampered with any links to them in the chemical attack.
The Holy Father stated that he was following the situation with “great suffering and concern.”
“The growth in violence in a war between brothers, with a multiplication of massacres and atrocities that we have all been able to see in the terrible images of recent days, moves me once again to call in a loud voice for the fighting to cease,” the Pope exclaimed to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“It is not conflict that offers a perspectives of hope for resolving problems, but it is the capacity for meeting and dialogue.”
Pope Francis expressed his solidarity to the victims of the ongoing conflict, inviting them despite the circumstances, to keep “the hope of peace alive.” The Holy Father also called on the international community to be more responsive to the war in Syria.
The international community, he said, must “do all it can to help the beloved Syrian nation find a solution to a war that sows destruction and death.”
Concluding his address, the Holy Father lead the faithful in prayer for Syria saying ”Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us.”
