VATICAN (SE). Humanitarian support and pastoral care continues to reach Christian communities in Syria, despite the ongoing unrest in the country, according to Michel Constantin, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association – Pontifical Mission for Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt, Vatican News reported.
In a December 10 status report, Constantin said that his team has been in touch with partners from the local Church, all of whom confirmed that the situation with the rebels remains stable.
The Christian community in Syria initially had mixed reactions to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, but it is now hopeful for better circumstances, Constantin said.
He remarked that Church leaders were “assured… that the new authority on the ground will be committed to ensuring protection for all citizens, especially Christians,” who are present in most of Syria’s major urban locations.
The three patriarchs of Syria, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East, Aphrem II Karim of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and Joseph Absi of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church stressed “the importance of preserving the Christian presence and promoting the values of citizenship and coexistence,” according to a report by The Orthodox Times on December 11.
