The Suffering Church
The end of Christianity in Syria would be a great loss, because “the Church stands as a reminder to every one of the ethics of justice and human dignity as a supreme value,” says Archbishop Jacques Mourad.
The Church in Syria is “dying,” a Syriac Catholic bishop warned recently, during a presentation in Rome.
Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama, and al-Nabek said the Church in Syria faces an unbearable and unsustainable political and legal situation, with Christians leaving the country in search of better living conditions.
Archbishop Mourad, 57, is a member of a monastic community committed to promoting fraternity between Christians and Muslims, in a country where the former makes up 2.3% of the population and the latter 95%. He was recently in Rome, taking part in the presentation of the Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025, organized by pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Archbishop Mourad, who was abducted by the Islamic State group in 2015, avoided speaking about the trials he endured at the hands of the jihadists, preferring to mention the Muslims who helped him escape captivity. In a soft voice, but with clear words, he expressed his hope that “raising our voices at this moment may be beneficial to our country.”
Around 2.1 million Christians lived in Syria in 2011, according to ACN estimates, whereas in 2024, the number was closer to 540,000.
“None of the efforts by the Universal Church or the local Church managed to stem the tide of the exodus, because the causes are not related to the Church, but rather to the country’s disastrous political and economic situation,” the archbishop said. “You can’t stop a wave of migration without first establishing a well-defined political government model in Syria and a solid security system.”
In late 2024, Syria’s long-time Assad regime was overthrown by a band of rebels led by former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa. Al-Sharaa, now interim president of the country, has said he has rejected his former jihadist affiliations and has tried to reassure religious minorities in the country. But the transition has been marked by violence.
“The Syrian people continue to suffer violence, reprisals, and tragic and regrettable events that undermine all the international claims and popular demands to put an end to this bloodbath,” Archbishop Mourad said at the conference. “We are becoming more and more like Afghanistan. We don’t have that level of violence yet, but we’re not that far off either. People are under all sorts of pressure. Don’t think we are heading towards greater freedom, religious or otherwise,” he assured the audience.
He issued an “appeal to all people of good will in the world, to take the necessary measures to put an end to the violence and find ways to end the past and present injustices,” explaining that “the lack of justice is a consequence of the past 60 years, which carved out a great division between the state and the people.”
He added, “The people don’t trust the local government or the international community. We only trust in God.”
Helping his people be more political
Archbishop Mourad also expressed concern over a possible peace treaty with Israel that would cede the disputed Golan Heights, which he thinks would “deprive the inhabitants of Damascus of water sources and enslave them. Who would accept a treaty such as this? Where are the human rights values that should help ensure that decisions are fair for both parties?”
His proposal is that, on one hand, “the international community adopt a clear position regarding what is happening in Syria,” and on the other, that “all local and international institutions and organizations that operate in Syria cooperate with cultural bodies, schools, universities, and institutes to overcome the fear that has taken hold in society, and organize training courses on the role of legislation in the establishment of justice and the independence of the state’s judiciary.”
Locally, the Church in Aleppo is organizing “forums to train people to carry out a political role, when the opportunity presents itself, and therefore to contribute to and ensure a transition from an authoritarian and unipolar regime to a democracy,” he explained. The archbishop stressed that the Church reserves the right to do so “in a country so rich in history, civilization, and human values,” but recognized that Catholics currently “feel like foreigners in our own country, which is intolerable.”
“We are grateful to you, dear friends and benefactors at ACN,” he concluded, “because you make it possible to relieve the suffering of needy and persecuted Christians in Syria and all over the world.”
– Xavier Burgos
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