By John Pontifex
A leading Syrian
prelate urged Europe to take tougher action to stop fundamentalists from
entering its territory.
Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II, the Damascus-based leader of Syriac Orthodox Church, warned of the threat posed by a new generation of radicalized Muslims bent on imposing Sharia law as widely as possible.
While many Muslim
refugees entering Europe are peace-loving moderates, he added, Western
governments “must be better prepared” to ferret out jihadists.
In an interview with
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the international Catholic charity, the
Patriarch called for a strict screening process of migrants and refugees
seeking to enter Europe.
“I do not know how
this should happen but it is necessary and should be done without infringing
the rights of those who are peace-loving and law-abiding,” he said.
He also called on
Western governments to insist permission be granted for the construction of
churches in Muslim nations, even as new mosques are built in Europe.
Patriarch Aphrem
warned that Christianity is at risk of disappearing from Syria, Iraq and
Lebanon. He cited the example of Turkey, whose Christian population a century
ago stood at more than 3.5 million but has dwindled to only 150,000 today.
He said that 80
percent of Christians in Iraq had left the country since the overthrow of
President Saddam Hussein in 2003; and that 50 percent of Syria’s Christians are
either internally displaced or are living as refugees abroad.
ACN is providing food,
shelter, medicine and other essential assistance to Christians, other
minorities as well as Muslims throughout the region.
The Patriarch said:
“The work of ACN is crucial and makes a big difference. Thousands upon
thousands of Christians depend on the help they are receiving from ACN and
other organizations.”
With picture of Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II (© ACN)
Editor’s Notes:
Directly under the
Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports
the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.
ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through
prayer, information and action.
Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul
II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work
in over 145 countries throughout the world.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including
providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church
buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since
the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed
worldwide.
For more information contact Michael Varenne at
michael@churchinneed.org or call
718-609-0939 or fax718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street,
PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384. www.churchinneed.org
