In Ma’loula: Ringing Bells and Worshipers, Not Barricades and Slaughterers

Director of the Catholic Information Center, Father Abdo Abu Kasam, said that what happened in the Syrian town of Ma’loula is the result of violence and the senseless war under the guise of democracy and freedoms.

In a statement he made to Al-Manar Website Friday, Abu Kasam wondered: “What freedoms they are seeking in a time when churches are violated and houses of worship are burnt which is supposed to be a place to build love.”

“Attacking the holy sites of Christianity affects the Christian heritage and entity. Ma’loula is an ancient city which houses monasteries and not barricades, where you hear the bells ringing not the sound of guns, where people pray and do not slaughter,” the Father told Al-Manar Website.

“Pope Francis has called on the international community, the G20 leaders, the United Nations and the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See to say ‘stop the violence in Syria and come to establish and build a culture of peace and stand against the war which would be launched on Syria and to help its people instead’ just like the Pope did when he called for a day of prayer for Syria,” Abu Kasam went on to say.

Abu Kasam stressed that “war only generates war and violence only generates violence.”

“Do Muslims accept the churches to be violated?”, Abu Kasam asked, adding that he was waiting for an official stance of the Islamic clerics, pointing out that Islam is a religion of mercy and not of cracking, killing and slaughter.

“Come to meet for the one word to build a culture of peace among ourselves,” Father Abu Kasam concluded, calling upon those who support the armed groups in Syria to reconsider their accounts and learn more on those whom they support, feed and finance.