Cardinal Claudio Guggerotti, arrived in Damascus on Friday, where he has been sent by Pope Francis to convey his closeness to the Catholic community in Syria.
The the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, who stopped in Beirut , Lebanon, on Thursday, will stay in Syria until January 29.
He shared with Vatican Media his hope that the now calmer situation in Lebanon, which recently elected a new president ending over two years of presidential vacuum, may soon extend to Syria.
Hope for stability in Syria
As the Prefect recalled, Syria and Lebanon are two neighbouring countries with historically “fluctuating” relations, that share an intertwined destiny. What is important now, he noted, “is that a large number of Syrians who took refuge in Lebanon begin to consider returning to Syria if the situation stabilizes.”
He also remarked that “the Maronite Church, which originated in the mountains of Syria but later settled here (Lebanon) is also present in Syria, creating a strong connection between the two countries.”
In Lebanon the situation is a lot calmer now and the hope is that “this calm can extend to to the other side of the border. albeit in a different way and for different reasons.”
To read more: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2025-01/cardinal-gugerotti-hopeful-for-a-stabilized-syria.html
By Stefano Leszczynski – vaticannews
