The Voice of the suffering and persecuted​

“the gravity of the situation is unchanged, and indeed in some places even worse” than before the pandemic, with almost a million people left homeless and a total absence of any effective response from either national or international authorities.

Yet, despite his confidence in the government, the bishop warned that “we have to be on our guard, nonetheless, as the reactions of the fundamentalist Muslim extremists are unpredictable."

"I asked myself why it was that I organized an occasion to honor the mother of God and this would happen on this same day. I wondered where our Mother was that she could not intervene but allowed these people to suffer."

"The 'Christian people' of Turkey' are extremely cautious, given what they have been through."

"There are many financial interests and those who are funding all this are finding fertile ground due to the poverty, the lack of opportunities and the resulting youth unemployment."

“We are gradually getting a feel for how art, evangelization and respect for the culture can all work together to help us understand one another.”

"We feel as if we are betrayed. Just to arouse the emotions of the people, the representatives of the government say something about the investigations [into the bombings]. It is only a good slogan for the next election.”

"Christians are loved in the region, especially since the humanitarian organizations are all Christian, and they provide 80 percent of their aid to Muslims. Going to church, ringing bells is possible as it has always been."

"We firmly believe that prayer will be the first to bring forth fruits of mercy. Prayer forms the basis for the aid and support that we would like and are required to provide.”

“The number of Christian families, of all denominations, in Aleppo before the war stood at around 30,000. Now that figure has fallen to around 10,000."