Friends,
Allow me to express sadness for our Archdiocese, whose buildings got struck once again, this very morning, suffering damage from a rebel-launched bomb that pierced the roof. No one was inside, thank God!
Allow me to stand by numerous families in Aleppo who are in mourning and to suffer with them! Because of this ugly and barbarous war they have lost so many loved ones, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and cherished children.
Allow me to worry about the faithful of this city. Insecurity is wearing them down, depressing them, adding more each day to their anxiety and sadness.
Allow me to be distressed by the homes that are destroyed, churches rendered unusable, shuttered businesses and destroyed shops, an ancient city crushed by the destruction of a priceless architectural patrimony.
Allow me to be bitter when comforting countless parents mortified by the deprivation that robs their children of the basic necessities needed to promote dignity and the ability to grow up healthy.
Allow me to be concerned about the survival of a growing number of elderly, to focus on getting them the minimum amount of aid needed for their serenity, which is already sorely tested by suffering and constant danger.
Allow me to raise my voice to call on all men and women of goodwill to hear our plea. ISIS, which has already killed thousands in the region, is terrifying the faithful of Aleppo. After Maloula, Mossul, Idleb and Palmyra—what is the West waiting for before it intervenes? What are the great nations waiting for before they put a halt to these monstrosities?
Allow me to cry out in anger and to revolt against a global system inclined toward barbarism, hungry for power and drunk with insatiable corruption. Let me cry with my people, violated and murdered. Hundreds of thousands of victims, sacrificed for the promise of a better society that I don’t know, and the promise and hope of an Arab spring they will never see!
May all those who believe in the Good and Merciful God, and all those with compassion for the innocent, raise their voice with us and call on civilized countries to take action to bring about Peace—before it is too late and more innocent victims add to this gruesome spectacle.
Archbishop Jean-Clement Jeanbart of Aleppo
June 21, 2015