Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Cardinal Mario Zenari, the papal ambassador to Syria, have met President Bashar Al-Assad.
The Vatican said that during the meeting, which took place in Damascus on Monday 22 July, a letter was presented to the president from Pope Francis expressing his “profound concern” for the humanitarian situation in the country, and particularly for the people of Idlib province, which has been subject to government air strikes. Of the three million people who live there, 1.3 million have been internally displaced as a result of the country’s protracted civil war.
The Pope has shown solidarity with the plight of the Syrian people throughout his pontificate, calling for a ceasefire in Aleppo in 2016. In the same year he took the unusual move of naming his nuncio in the country as a cardinal, elevating the importance of his representative in the war torn country.
Speaking about the letter, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, told Vatican News it was a humanitarian gesture urging President Assad to take steps towards reconciliation.
“What is happening is intolerable and inhuman,” the cardinal said. “The Holy Father asks the President to do everything possible to put an end to this humanitarian catastrophe, in order to protect the defenceless population, especially those who are most vulnerable.”
He added: “the Pope encourages President Bashar al-Assad to carry out significant gestures in this urgent process of reconciliation, and he offers concrete examples. He cites, for example, creating the conditions needed for the safe return of exiles and internally displaced persons, and for all those who wish to return to the country after having been forced to leave. He also mentions the release of prisoners and the access of families to information about their loved ones.”
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