Greek Catholic Synod in Damascus, Syria, Calls for Lebanon to Elect a President

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church held its annual synod from Monday, 17 June, to Friday, 21 June 2024, at the Patriarchal headquarters, at the invitation of Patriarch Yusuf Al-Absi. At the close of the session, the bishops sent a message to Pope Francis. It told him the topics they would discuss, asked for his blessing, and asked for prayers for the synod’s work.

At the opening of the discussions, the Patriarch and the bishops condemned what they described as attacks on civilians and the shameful mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza and Rafah. They said the international community had stood helpless before these scenes. They also condemned the use of force to settle crises, aggressive tactics, and the intimidation of citizens, including Christians in Sudan, who they said had been trapped in their livelihoods.

The bishops raised concern about the emigration of young people from the Middle East, which they said was taking place notably in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. They said this loss of young people was draining the countries of the vitality needed to recover.

The synod also addressed Lebanon’s long-running constitutional vacuum, the failure to elect a president. The bishops said this had left lasting negative effects on people’s lives and livelihoods, and on their right to recover and reach savings that they said were being illegally held. They called on those responsible to awaken their conscience and to elect a president as soon as possible. Protecting people who have no voice in such disputes is a matter the Scriptures take up directly (Proverbs 31:8-9).

On Syria, the bishops drew attention to what they called an arbitrarily imposed economic blockade. They said it had worsened living conditions and pushed many Syrians to migrate in search of better opportunities.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Arabic)