Homs bishop: Situation in Syria does not follow “Western narrative”

Archbishop of Homs, Syria: Rising persecution taking its toll on patience of Christians

By Gianni Valente (Agenzia Fides)

Syrian Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Syria (Photo: RVA)

“A new era has begun for Syria. And it is a difficult time again,” said Archbishop Jacques Mourad. The monk of the Deir Mar Musa community, spiritual son of Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, was held hostage for months by jihadists of the Islamic State in 2015.

And today, as Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs, what he sees and hears about the new suffering in Syria does not correspond to the dominant narrative in the media, especially in the West, which reports on a “regime change,” a successful and peaceful regime change with new Islamist leaders seeking international recognition after more than 50 years of the Assad clan ruling the country.

The dominant media coverage, for example, fails to mention the widespread violence and fear that once again overshadows the days of a large part of the Syrian population. A violence that, as Jacques Mourad admits, “seems to be a trap that all those who come to power here fall into.”

In recent weeks, the Syrian Catholic Archbishop of Homs told Fides, people have disappeared, prisons are filling up “and we do not know who is still alive and who is dead.” Those accused of having colluded with the collapsed regime are being tortured in public. And he also reports “several cases of young Christians being threatened and tortured in the streets in front of everyone, in order to instill fear and force them to renounce their faith and become Muslims” — crimes that are taking place far from Damascus.

“I try to encourage people, to console them, to ask for patience and to look for solutions,” said Archbishop Mourad. “But when the violence increases, our words and our calls for patience will no longer convince them.”

Meanwhile, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, visited Syria in recent days as the Pope’s envoy to testify to the closeness of the Successor of Peter to the Christian communities in tormented Syria.

“The previous regime,” explains Archbishop Mourad, “presented itself as the defender of Christians. They always said: if we leave, the fanatics will return. Now many priests are pessimistic about the future. My answer is always the same: the situation is definitely incomparable to that of the past, when there were unimaginable crimes. But since the new violence, there are also those who say: ‘You saw that what Bashar al-Assad said is true.’ The result is that many Christians now, more than ever, see no other way than to emigrate.”

Muslim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who declared himself “interim president” of Syria

In the churches, since the fall of the Assad regime, in many ways everything seems to continue as before: services, processions, prayers and works of charity. The new rulers have not issued any compulsory regulations that in any way affect the everyday life of the church. The recognized leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad Joulani, leader of the armed jihadist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, (HTS) who declared himself “interim president” of Syria on January 29, met with Father Ibrahim Faltas and area Franciscans at the end of 2024 and had words of praise for Pope Francis, stressing that the Christians who emigrated during and after the civil war should return to Syria.

“And the reality,” [Archbishop Mourad] adds, “is that there is no government. There are different armed groups. Some are fanatics, others are not. And each has its own power and imposes its own rule in the areas it controls.”

Archbishop Mourad says he does not know how the situation can improve. In the meantime, he himself is moving on.

“I thought the most important thing was to start again with the children. You can only start again with children and young people after the war has somehow wiped out everything. And together with them, you have to start again with the essential, original things,” the Archbishop continued. “And to see if something is reborn, like a new sprout.”