Residences Of Archbishops In Syrian City Ransacked

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[b]VATICAN CITY[/b] -- Fighting in Aleppo, Syria, has not spared the residences of the local Melkite and Maronite Catholic archbishops, according to the Vatican's Fides news agency.

The residence of Melkite Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart was ransacked during clashes Thursday. The archbishop and several priests who live in the building had fled a few hours earlier to a Franciscan residence in a safer neighborhood, Fides reported Monday.

Franciscan Fr. George Abu Khazen, who cares for the city's Latin-rite Catholics and offered shelter to the Melkites, told Fides that Jeanbart was very worried and shaken. "He kept repeating one word: 'Why?'"
The archbishop has gone to Lebanon, but one of his assistants was able to return to the house once the Syrian military regained control of the area. He said the house had been broken into and a variety of objects, including computers and a projector, were missing, Khazen said.

The Maronite archbishop's residence and a museum of Byzantine Christian art in the same neighborhood were both ransacked as well, Fides said.

Khazen said it still seems like there is no solution to the Syrian conflict in sight because no one, nationally or internationally, seems able to pressure either side into beginning a real dialogue.

The tensions began in March 2011 as part of the pro-democracy Arab Spring movement that swept across North Africa and the Middle East.

Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, said it spoke to another member of "the local hierarchy, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons."

He told Fides that "groups of jihadists" -- militant Islamic fighters -- from Chechnya, Pakistan, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Libya have joined the fighting in an attempt to increase "hatred and sectarian conflict."

The groups, he said, "have the sole aim of bringing chaos, destruction, atrocities and paralyzing social life. The Syrian civilian population is the victim, but they won't fall for this trap."

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Damascus, Syria, Aug 25, 2012 / 04:38 pm ([url="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com"]CNA[/url]).- Syrian rebel forces have trapped over 12,000 Greek Catholics in a village near the Lebanese border, causing shortages of food, medicine and other urgent supplies.
For over 10 days the village of Rableh in the area of Homs has suffered under a strict blockade from armed opposition forces that have surrounded it, Fides news agency says. Snipers have killed at least three men of the village, including a married father of four.

Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gergorios III Laham has appealed to men of good will to ensure that “Rableh is saved and all other villages affected in Syria.” He has asked “for peace to be reached in our beloved country.”

Archbishop Mario Zenari, the apostolic nuncio to Syria, has asked both sides of the conflict to adhere to “the strict observance of the international humanitarian law.”

Rebels began an armed revolt against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. Since then, more than 200,000 people have fled the country. Government forces drove out rebels from a Damascus suburb of Daraya on Friday.

The international pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need is helping an unnamed Syrian village in a situation similar to Rableh’s.

The destruction of bridges, the cutting of power lines and road obstacles have cut off the village from food and other basic necessities, the charity reports.

“We have organised ourselves so we could stand by each other and we are sharing everything so we could survive,” a local priest said. “We need every help we could get. Please help us.”

Those who have fled to Lebanon say that residents are suffering hunger and milk for children is running out. The village lacks canned goods and children’s diapers as well.

Motorcyclists trying to carry bread into the village have been shot at.

Aid to the Church in Need has made an emergency grant of $62,000 for food, medicine and baby milk.
“The fighting is reported to be fierce between the Free Syrian Army and official armed forces loyal to Assad,” Aid to the Church in Need journalist John Pontifex told CNA Aug. 24.

A government helicopter intending to attack rebel groups recently bombed the Greek Catholic monastery of St. James the Mutilated in Qara, which dates back to the sixth century. None of its 25 residents and 20 refugees were hurt but parts of the building were damaged.