Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Release abducted nuns, Orthodox bishop urges Syrian rebels

Release abducted nuns, Orthodox bishop urges Syrian rebels

Last updated on: December 17, 2013 at 11:08 am by CNA Daily News

Release abducted nuns, Orthodox bishop urges Syrian rebels 2013-12-17T11:08:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Homs, Syria, Dec 17, 2013 / 04:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An Orthodox bishop in Syria has called for the release of 12 nuns kidnapped by Islamist rebels, saying they “have done no harm to anyone.”

“We’ve now reached the point where even nuns are being abducted. What have they done wrong? It’s a crime. The abductors want to demonstrate that they show no mercy,” Bishop Selwanos Boutros Alnemeh, Syriac Orthodox Metropolitan of Homs and Hama, told Aid to the Church in Need Dec. 11.

The bishop told the international Catholic pastoral charity that there has been no communication with the nuns, and that he believes they are being held in Yabrud, a rebel-held town 12 miles from their Orthodox convent of St. Thekla in Ma'loula.

The nuns, along with three women from their convent's orphanage, were abducted after Ma'loula, located 35 miles north of Damascus, was seized by rebel forces Dec. 2. Their captors are presumed to be Islamist fighters of al-Nusra Front.

“I am very sad that they have been abducted,” the bishop said.

The television station Al Jazeera broadcast video of the nuns last week.

“They said they had been removed for their own safety,” Bishop Alnemeh reported. “We don't know how recent the recordings are and how the sisters are doing now.”

The Syrian government is negotiating with rebels who are demanding that hundreds of imprisoned women activists be freed in exchange for the nuns’ freedom, the Associated Press reports.

Bishop Alnemeh said the nuns have been completely apolitical.

“They were neither on the side of the regime nor on that of the opposition. Their convent took in refugees regardless of their religion, including Muslims.”

Pope Francis called for prayers for the nuns in his Dec. 4 general audience.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, on Dec. 13 said there has been “a significant adnd deeply alarming rise” in abuctions of religious figures, journalists, activists, and human rights supporters by opposition groups. He said Syrian government forces have also engaged in “arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances of individuals.”

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulous Yazigi of Aleppo and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yuhanna Ibrahim of Aleppo were abducted in April. Bishop Alnemeh said their fate is unknown, though there are rumors that only one bishop is still alive, and is being kept in either Syria or Turkey.

Bishop Alnemeh urged the international community, governments of neighboring countries and other organizations to bring an end to the Syrian civil war, now in its 32nd month.

The war is rooted demonstrations which sprang up nationwide on March 15, 2011 protesting the rule of Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president and leader the country's Ba'ath Party.

In April of that year, the Syrian army began to deploy to put down the uprisings, firing on protesters. Since then, the violence has morphed into a civil war which has claimed the lives of more than 115,000 people.

There are 2.3 million Syrian refugees in nearby countries, most of them in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. An additional 6.5 million Syrian people are believed to have been internally displaced by the war.

Syrians are facing food insecurity, and a severe winter storm has brought freezing temperatures and snow to bear upon refugees in Lebanon without adequate shelter.

The Syrian civil war is being waged among the Syrian regime and various rebel groups, including both moderates such as the Free Syrian Army, Islamists such as al-Nusra Front, and Kurds.

On Dec. 11, both the US and UK announced the suspension of all “non-lethal” support, such as vehicles, communications equipment and medicine, to rebels in northern Syria, after the Islamic Front, a new rebel alliance, seized a Turkish border crossing operated by the Free Syrian Army.

Middle East - Africa

Previous Post

December 17, 2013

Minn. archbishop grieves, issues apology over clergy sex abuse

Next Post

December 17, 2013 Holiness means 'letting God write our history,' preaches Pope

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who parted the Red Sea for the Israelites?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Moses God Aaron Jacob