ICC Note: June 1st marked International Children’s day. Accordingly, out of Aleppo the Syrian Christian children share the “best and most beautiful response” to the Civil war they have lived through in the last 5 years. Hundreds of children gathered in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Tartous and Marmarita to pray for a peaceful and hope-filled future.

06/02/2016 Syria (Asia News): The special prayer for the peace of the Syrian Christian children – Catholics and Orthodox – is the “best and most beautiful response” to the violence of war and fundamentalism. We welcomed “with joy” the words  of Pope Francis and “pray not only for our children, but for the little ones of the world”, for those who live “a war situation, suffering, for those who are victims of exploitation” .This is what tells AsiaNews p. Alsabagh Ibrahim, 44 year old Franciscan, guardian and parish priest of the Latin parish of St. Francis in Aleppo, the “capital of the North” in Syria by weeks of heavy bombardment theater. Even his parish participates today June 1, in conjunction with the International Children’s Day, the “special prayer for peace” in the country.

The war in Syria, flared up in March 2011 as a protest rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad, has caused 280 thousand deaths in five years (according to some sources are 470 thousand) and millions of displaced persons. Among the victims, at least 80 thousand are civilians and of these almost 14 thousand are children (figures as at March). To date at least 250 thousand children live in brutal siege conditions, in areas defined by activists and NGOs “open-air prison”. Nearly two and a half million under five are at risk of malnutrition.

To sensitize the international community about the violence that affect even the smallest, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Syria have promoted a special day of prayer, re-launched by the pope himself on 29 May during the Marian prayer. Hundreds of children gathered today in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Tartous and Marmarita to ask the grace of peace and a hopeful future.

In addition to prayer, the Latin parish of St. Francis celebrated in the late afternoon a special Mass dedicated to children. “The church is decorated balloons – says Fr. Ibrahim – and there will be parents with their children. ” They will be “at least 300, but perhaps many more,” says the priest, who come together to “make their voices heard against war, exploitation, violence” in union and communion “with all the children of the world”. Our hope, he adds, is that “they can grow as the child of Nazareth, in grace and wisdom.”

…

[Full Story]