Archb. Zenari: Fr. Dall'Oglio's abduction in Syria is part of a "Via Crucis" of kidnappings
(Vatican Radio) Al Quaeda-linked fighters in Syria have reportedly abducted an Italian
priest who is known for his outspoken views against the government of President Bashar
al-Assad.
Reporters in Syria claim that Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio – who
has often expressed his opinion championing the anti-government uprising on Vatican
Radio – was kidnapped on Monday in the rebel-held Eastern city of Raqqa.
Speaking
to Vatican Radio, the Vatican’s nuncio to Syria, Archbishop Mario Zenari says he has
no official confirmation of Dall’Oglio’s abduction. He says he didn’t even know the
priest, who is a well-known advocate of Christian/Muslim dialogue, was in Syria at
the time.
Listen to Linda Bordoni’s report…
Archbishop
Zenari says that every day that goes by, this conflict is like a bundle of wool that
gets more and more tangled. He says the reported kidnapping is a sad event and is
part of a continuing “via crucis” of kidnappings. Zenari recalls the abduction of
two orthodox bishops who were kidnapped three months ago, of two priests – one Catholic
the other Orthodox – and of the hundreds and hundreds of kidnappings of both Syrians
and foreigners, some for political reasons, others for economic gain. This of the
abductions – he says – “is a painful wound inflicted on the Syrian nation and its
people”.
Regarding the figure and the personality of Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio,
Archbishop Zenari says Dall’Oglio’s work to promote Christian/Muslim dialogue has
been fruitful. He also speaks of what he calls the “ beautiful intuition that led
him to found the Monastic Community of Deir Mar Musa that attracted people, especially
young people, from all over the world”. Zenari describes the priest as a person who
really loves Syria, and who in recent times has expressed personal opinions regarding
the situation that not everyone agrees with. But, Archbishop Zenari underlines: Dall’Oglio
is a good Jesuit priest and a very capable man.
Archbishop Zenari never tires
of saying that those who are suffering the most from the Syrian conflict are the poor.
According to UN statistics some 5.000 people are killed every month; every day about
6000 people are forced to flee their homes. Not to mention the lack of work and the
difficulties that derives from that. We personally touch with hand - Zenari says
– what it means to live in a civil war context which “brings death and destruction
but is also a factory that produces innumerable miseries”. And he appeals to the International
Community to help Syria to break this cycle of violence, death, misery and kidnappings.