Fr Georges Massouh: We Doubt that the Nuns went of their Own Free Will

Arabic original here.


Is There Fear that the Kidnapped Nuns Will Be Used As Human Shields?

As though it were not enough that the fate of the two kidnapped metropolitans of Aleppo has been unknown for months, another problem is added to the Church's worries with the kidnapping of 12 nuns from the Monastery of Maaloula by extremist groups, since the subject of their kidnapping continues to be discussed, especially after their appearance on al-Jazeera saying that they were "well and not kidnapped." What does the Orthodox Church say about their appearance and their situation?

The director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Studies at Balamand University, Fr Georges Massouh, says, "Naturally, we doubt that the nuns went of their own free will to wherever they are now, as was claimed in the video that was shown. Instead, they were kidnapped and detained and they were robbed of their freedom and we do not know why this happened. The nuns are peace-loving, and if they wanted to go to any place outside the monastery, they would not have gone with this group, since there are other places that they could have gone to. Especially since one of the nuns said [in the video] that they will be 'released' after two days, use of the the word 'released' means that they were kidnapped."

Fr Massouh regrets that "the crosses on their necks were removed. This is a dangerous sign that proves that there is a lack of respect for freedom of faith, which is against religious teachings and against human rights."

Up to now, the Church has no information about the rumored exchange and release of captives. "The issue of realizing demands is not with the Church, but with the Syrian state. This is another indication that they were kidnapped. Note that there is fear in the Church that the kidnapped nuns will be used as human shields."

Fr Massouh confirms to an-Nahar that "the Church worries about all those kidnapped, detained and expelled and all who are suffering in Syria. However, when it comes to targeting nuns and cloistered clergymen who have no concern but to pray for their fellow citizens, this is a dangerous sign that we have reached an intolerable state of decline and degeneracy." In closing, Fr Georges stresses that "the Church rejects any call for young Christian men to bear arms. We, Jesus Christ's group, do not form militias or parties and we do not enter into sectarian wars."

*On his personal Facebook page, Fr Georges clarified his closing statement from this article:
"I rejected the formation of sectarian Christian militias. I have never said that Christians should not defend their country... Defending Syria is a sacred right for all sons of Syria, Christian and Muslim, and this has its ways and means, including the army that does not discriminate between Syrians on a sectarian basis. Any sectarian call for defending the sect is deadly for Syria and for the Syrian public... this is what I meant."

As-Safir on the Destruction of Maaloula

Arabic original here.


Priest from Maaloula to as-Safir: The Rebels are Burning the Town
 
by Carmen Joukhadar

"Maaloula cries out for help and there is no one to bring help." So summarizes the priest of the [Greek Catholic?] parish in Zahle, Fr Fadi Leondios al-Barkeel, the situation in his hometown, which he last visited  in August, before it was subjected to terrorist attacks by Jabhat al-Nusra in the first week of September.

The priest confirms to as-Safir that Jabhar al-Nusra, which has taken control of the region, is burning houses and has set fire to the entire Old City where the Christians live, and that the nuns who were kidnapped by the rebels have been taken to an unknown location.

The priest confirms that the people of Maaloula, the historic Christian town, have taken refuge in Damascus and Zahle, while the Patriarchate in the Syrian capital is undertaking to help them by paying the first three months' rent for the apartments they rent.

Al-Barkeel states that residents left Maaloula with the clothes on their backs after the rebels surprised them. They had harbored hopes of returning to their homes, "But any dream of return has become impossible after their houses were pillaged and burned."

He adds with a lump in his throat, "The people of Maaloula only wanted to keep their churches. Historic, Aramaic Maaloula is gone. That's it. It's gone." He affirms that the expulsion of Maaloula's residents comes within the context of a plan to expell the Christians from the Middle East, drawing attention to the fact that the rebels targeted [the Christian villages of] Sadad, Deir Attiyeh, Nabak and now Maaloula.

The priest relates from those most recently arriving from Maaloula that the rebels swore during their latest attack on the town, "We will burn Maaloula and everything in it." He reveals that visiting the monasteries has been forbidden since February on account of the presence of rebels in the Safir Hotel [on the hill overlooking the monasteries].

The priest states that during the first assault [in September] there was an attack on the Church of Saint Sergius, whose cross they removed, then attacks on the Church of Saint Barbara and the Monastery of Saint Thekla. He indicates that a large number of historically and religiously significant icons disappeared.

For her part, a woman who arrived in Lebanon from Maaloula two days ago confirms to as-Safir that returning to Maaloula has become an impossible dream for residents of the region, after "Terrorists burned the town." She states that "In the first assault, the terrorists took control of several homes and destroyed them, just as from the very first day they attacked the churches, destroyed the dome of the Church of Saint Sergius, and destroyed the crosses." She mentions that when the rebels entered Maaloula they stated that they would not touch holy things, but they defiled the altars in the churches and wreaked destruction.

The woman, who left Maaloula for Damascus after the first assault, tells of the rebels kidnapping her husband and transporting him to an area near the hills outside Ersal, only to release him 52 days later after the payment of a cash ransom.

The woman, who is helping the Archdiocese of Zahle to receive Syrian refugees, relates from residents of her hometown of Maaloula that the latest assault was undertaken by hundreds of terrorists who "Attacked the village and, amidst cries of 'Allahu Akbar' also shouted, 'Where are you, O worshipers of the cross?'"

The woman, who dried her tears more than once as she recalled the fist assault and  the "impossibility" of returning after the rebels took over, states that "Tanks from the Syrian Army also subjected the churches to thermal rockets" and that "What led to the end of the battle after three days was the numerical superiority of the terrorists over the Syrian Army and the National Defense Forces."

A church source from Maaloula confirms that the city has been subjected to a campaign of desecration, destruction, burning and pillaging, stating that the people of the region had left on September 7, following the first assault.

The church source, located in Lebanon, wonders aloud to as-Safir about the silence of Christian leaders in Lebanon who are close to the Syrian opposition, drawing attention to the fact that "These parties treat what is happening in Maaloula as though it is something that doesn't concern them."

He wonders, "Where are George Sabra and Michel Kilo, who presented themselves as representatives of the Christians with the opposition? Why are they silent? What hotel are they staying in today?"

The source points out that Pope Francis raised his voice high when he said, "We will not allow there to be a Middle East empty of Christians," hoping that church officials will raise their voice more and more , especially after the events in Maaloula.

The source addresses himself to officials in the Church and says, "Don't speak in our name in Europe and America... Stand beside us in these circumstances... Cry out next to us, don't cry out abroad, since no one will hear you... Please lift your voice to heaven... We do not need your standing there at feasts and festivals, but rather in this difficult situation that we are suffering through."

The source confirms that during the first attack, 6 young men were kidnapped and their fate is still unknown today, while three other young men were killed because "they refused to stop being Christians."

The source regards the attacks on Maaloula as "a reaction to and revenge for the losses suffered by the rebels in a number of regions of Syria, especially in Qalamoun," noting that "the terrorists who attacked Qalamoun fled from Sadad, Deir Attiyeh and Nabak and came to take revenge." He adds, "Who do these people want to take revenge on? From the saints? From the historic town? From a region empty of everyone save a few young men remaining to protect homes from robbery? What is in Maaloula other than history, religion and love? In Maaloula there are no military barracks, missiles or chemical weapons, so what do you want from Maaloula, which was living in peace?"

Recognizing that "Returning won't happen any time soon," he speaks bitterly about his hometown that he has lost, "I will return to look for my house, for pictures of members of my family who have died and for my memories. My whole world is there and I will find nothing left of it."

Nuns' Kidnappers Release Video, Make Demands

One of the many disturbing things about this video is that the nuns have all had the crosses they normally wear removed, as pointed out by As'ad Abu Khalil here. For the demands made by the kidnappers, which gives the lie to the claim that they were removed from their monastery for their own safety, see here.

An English summary of the video's contents can be found here.

Patriarch John X: We Need Concrete Action, Not Words

This is the text of the press conference given today by Patriarch John X from Balamand at 3pm local time. The translation is unofficial. The Arabic original was posted to the Patriarchate's Facebook page here.

Amidst the calamities besetting Syria and the bloodshed afflicting our people and amidst the uncertainty that still surrounds the fate of our metropolitans Boulos and Youhanna in Aleppo, it is with deep pain that the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East has received news of the abduction of her daughters, nuns and orphans of the Monastery of Saint Thekla in Maaloula on December 2, 2013 and their being transported to Yabroud. Because our initial attempts to obtain the release our abducted daughters did not achieve the desired outcome, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East calls upon the international community and all governments to intervene and make efforts to release them safely. She likewise calls upon the conscience of all humanity and upon the spark of living conscience that the Creator, may He be exalted, sowed in the souls of all those who worship God, including the kidnappers, to release our sisters the nuns and the girls of the orphanage.

Our appeal to the international community: Although we are grateful for all the feelings of solidarity, we no longer need denunciation, condemnations, or "feelings of concern" about the assault on human dignity that is occurring, because all this is engraved in the conscience of every one of us. Today, however, we need concrete actions, not words. We do not want voices of condemnation from decision-makers, whether regional or international, but rather efforts, pressure and action leading to the release of those whose only fault was their clinging to their monastery and refusing to leave it.

We reiterate our call to stop the logic of conflict in Syria and replace it with the logic of peaceful dialogue and not to use stalling the start of dialogue to make gains on the ground because Syria is bleeding and with her too our hearts.  Let all know that one drop of innocent blood shed on this earth is holier and more precious than all the slogans in the world. Let all understand the the bells of our churches, we the Christians of the Middle East, which were hung and rang in time immemorial,  shall continue to ring out and be heard as the sound of our love and our peace for others, with their various religions, throughout the world.

The cruelty of the present days shall not uproot us from our land, because it is our being, our essence and a piece of our heart. Given the new circumstances exemplified by the abduction of the nuns and orphans of Maaloula, with regret we announce the suspension of our official patriarchal pastoral visit to our children and parishes in the countries of the Arabian Gulf, which had been scheduled between the sixth and seventeenth of December 2013, and our return to Damascus to follow closely all efforts and communications related to this latest incident. I greet all of our children in those countries and all those who labored to prepare the schedule for the aforementioned visit. I hope that my visit to them will be at the nearest opportunity. You, our children in the Gulf, you whose  sweet and honored faces, dear to my heart I was eagerly looking forward to meeting tomorrow, I apologize to you all for suspending this visit after you had made all arrangements for its success. I pray for your health, blessing and success. May God protect Syria, Lebanon and the Middle East and the people of the Middle East.

Thank you to the media who have made it possible for Antioch's pain and Antioch's hope to be heard in all the world.

Fr Georges Massouh on the Sins of Those in Authority

Arabic original here.


Sin is the Lack of Feeling

Sin, according to Saint Isaac the Syrian's definition, is "the lack of feeling". Holiness, according to the Christian tradition, is a person's admitting his sin and sincere effort to repent of it. In any case, all people without exception are sinners in need of God's grace. However, the way in which a person deals with is sin is what defines his path toward holiness or toward greater indulgence in sin.

The beginning of sin is when one makes another person into a mere thing, there for pleasure, consumption, subjugation, or killing... Without a doubt, the apex of sin is the absence of any feeling that the other person is a human possessing a spirit, a heart and a mind and that he has feelings. It is treating him as a thing or mere body made only of flesh. The apex of sin is killing the "person" in a person and making him into a thing that we use as a means for fulfilling our lusts and desires.

One who kills the "person" in another person also kills himself. He loses his freedom through his freedom. He eliminates his will through his will. He ignores his heart and his mind. He follows his impulse and is led by his lust... But one who kills the "person" in another person also kills God, God who willed that man be human and not animal or vegetable, not inanimate or an instrument for sin.

For a person to lack the feeling or the realization that he has sinned is an even greater evil than the sin itself. The problem is compounded when the sinner does not feel the pain and suffering that his sin has caused. It is true that the sinner is sometimes himself a victim , but in most cases he is the aggressor and others the victims.

No one is immune from sin. Temptation besets humankind as long as they strive upon this earth. The lives of the saints inform us that temptations are more severe for those who have forged ahead in the spiritual struggle to stop sin than for those who immediately fall into sin. We have the best example of this in the life of Saint Anthony the Great, since he was able to overcome the temptations of the devil and was delivered from his yoke through persistence and reliance on God's grace.

Moreover, Saint John Climacus of Sinai wrote a book about spiritual struggle called "the Ladder to God" or "the Ladder of Virtues" in which he talks about a ladder made up of thirty steps, each representing one of the virtues. Those striving after perfection must climb them one by one in order to reach God.

Climacus affirms the possibility of falling, even when one has reached the highest level. As long as one is alive, there remains the possibility of falling.

Temptations are present in daily life for each one of us. Every person is subject to falling into them. However, those in authority, whether religious, political, financial or spiritual-- and we have deliberately distinguished spiritual authority from religious authority-- bear greater responsibility because they improperly exploit their positions and their authority and because their sins and errors have more victims and harm the stations that they represent or direct and oversee. Their sin is greater because it collapses the edifice on those within it. It is all the worse when the victim is asked to keep silent for some interest or to save the authority figure who is at fault. That we may have feeling... this is what is hoped.

Pope, Mufti of Lebanon Call for Nuns' Release

From the Daily Star here.


Lebanon mufti calls for release of Maaloula nuns


BEIRUT: Lebanon's Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani called Wednesday for the release of a group of nuns who were seized by rebels in the ancient town of Maaloula, north of the Syrian capital.

In a statement, Qabbani denounced “the criminal kidnapping of nuns in Maaloula in Syria.”

He also warned against dragging Christians into the region’s conflicts and targeting Christian figures and holy sites, saying “foreign powers” could use such acts as a pretext to intervene in the Middle East.

Qabbani called for "the immediate release of the two bishops [Boulos Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim] and the nuns in Maaloula because their abduction and mistreatment contradict the manners and teachings of Islam in treating monks and nuns, particularly during periods of wars and conflicts.”

On Tuesday, the Vatican’s ambassador to Syria said rebel fighters moved a dozen nuns and three female helpers from the ancient town of Maaloula to the nearby town of Yabroud, but it wasn’t clear if they had been kidnapped or evacuated for their safety.

Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim has been kidnapped by armed men in April while en route to Aleppo from the Turkish border.


And from the same source, here.


Pope prays for 12 nuns abducted in Syria by rebels

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Wednesday called for prayers for a group of nuns seized from their convent in Syria and for all hostages held in the war-torn country.

"I invite you all to pray for the nuns of the Greek Orthodox convent of St Takla of Maalula in Syria who were forcibly taken away by armed men two days ago," Francis said at a general audience in St Peter's Square.

"We pray for these nuns and for all kidnap victims in the conflict," he said.

Syrian rebels this week took 12 nuns from the historic town of Maalula, which has been at the centre of fierce fighting for months, to the nearby stronghold of Yabrud.

It was not immediately clear whether the nuns had been kidnapped or merely evacuated for their own safety.

"The 12 nuns were forced from the convent by an armed group who they went with on the road to Yabrud," which is in rebel hands, the Holy See's nuncio Mario Zenari told AFP on Tuesday.

Reached by phone, the mother superior of the Saydnaya convent in Damascus province, Sivronia Nabhan, said she had spoken with her Maalula counterpart, who confirmed the nuns were in Yabrud.

Maalula mother superior Pelagia Sayyaf said "she and the 11 other nuns, accompanied by three young maids, were comfortably installed in a house in Yabrud and no one was bothering them," Nabhan said.

The two nuns spoke on Monday evening, Nabhan added.

Rebel forces, including jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, on Monday recaptured Maalula, which lies north of Damascus, from regime forces after three days of heavy clashes.

The nuns were among the few residents left in the hamlet, and were sheltering inside the convent.

In September, they were trapped inside the building with dozens of orphans during the first round of fighting between regime forces and rebels in the town.

Maalula has long been a symbol of the ancient Christian presence in Syria. Its residents are some of the few left in the world who speak Aramaic, the language that Jesus Christ is believed to have spoken.

Maaloula Update: 12 Nuns Kidnapped, Orphans Safe, Monastery Desecrated

Arabic original here.


Church Sources to an-Nahar: For Jabhat al-Nusra, Everything and Everyone in Maaloula is Fair Game
Church sources in Damascus have indicated to an-Nahar that the nuns of the Monastery of Maaloula were kidnapped by Jabhat al-Nusra, which includes armed groups from Chechnya and various Arab nationalities. Sources stated that the number of kidnapping victims is rising, since it now includes the nuns of Maaloula, in addition to the metropolitans of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi and Youhanna Ibrahim, and two priests.

The sources said, "The Monastery of Maaloula is mostly made up of Syrian nuns, while a few of them are Lebanese." They stated that "The Monastery of Saint Thekla has been subject to vandalism and desecration: icons and statues there were attacked and the monastery's paten, given by the Russian [Imperial Palestinian Orthodox] Society was vilely desecrated." This confirms information provided by the Vatican yesterday about the kidnapping of 12 Orthodox nuns from the monastery by Jabhat al-Nusra. Sources stressed that "al-Nusra has declared everything in Maaloula to be fair game."

As for the fate of the orphans who live with the monastery's nuns in its orphanage, sources mentioned that the army of the Syrian regime, during its initial withdrawal from Maaloula, was careful to evacuate the orphanage and provide safety to those in it. Under intense fire from snipers and anti-tank rockets, a military truck transported the orphans-- 6 boys and 15 girls-- to Damascus.