‘No future for Syria without Christians’: Archbishop calls for justice for massacre victims

Archbishop Jean-Abdo Arbach. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Aid to the Church in Need

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 14, 2025 / 15:10 pm (CNA).

The Greek-Catholic archbishop of Homs, Jean-Abdo Arbach, condemned the massacres of civilians that occurred in Syria last weekend — which left at least 1,000 dead — and urged Christians to maintain hope for an end to the violence and a return to unity and reconciliation.

Arbach emphasized the importance of the Christian community for the country’s future, telling the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that “without Christians, there can be no future for Syria” and urged the faithful to remain steadfast despite the trying circumstances.

“Christians are the roots of Syria and Syria is the cradle of Christianity. In Damascus we can still find the places where St. Paul converted to Christianity in the first century. We still have first-century churches and monasteries, and we have kept Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, alive,” the prelate emphasized.

Furthermore, the archbishop urged those responsible to stop the hostilities: “We do not want more bloodshed. We call for unity and reconciliation. After 14 years of war, we do not need another conflict.” 

The attacks, which claimed more than 1,000 lives, have been attributed to militants from the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group, a coalition of Sunni Islamist insurgent groups that have seized power in the Middle Eastern country by overthrowing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

“This is very painful. I ask for justice, because murdering women and children is not a good thing for Syria,” the archbishop said.

He also explained that, with the change of regime, Syria has entered a time of “great uncertainty,” with a lack of work and a shortage of food and medicine. “Many people are asking when this will end; they can’t see a future and they want to leave,” he explained.

Arbach told ACN that the situation is so desperate in Homs that he has seen many people wandering the streets in “loneliness, fear, and sadness.” The archbishop also called for an end to the international economic sanctions on Syria, which is severely impacting the country’s already deteriorating situation.

Despite the difficulties, the Catholic Church is redoubling its efforts to address the needs: “We are supporting our faithful in every sense of the word: paying rent; providing medication, food, and clothing; and also sustaining them spiritually so that they feel close to God, to encourage them to remain in their land, in their country, and to preserve Syria’s roots, which are the Christians,” the Greek Catholic prelate noted.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.