Pope Francis
On Syria: Abandon
'Futile
Pursuit' Of
Military
Solution
By NICOLE WINFIELD 09/05/13 01:08 PM ET EDT
In the United States, the head of the U.S. bishops'
conference, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, wrote a letter to members VATICAN CITY —
Pope Francis urged the Group of 20 leaders on Thursday to abandon the
"futile pursuit" of a military solution in Syria as the Vatican laid
out its case for a negotiated settlement that guarantees rights for all
Syrians, including minority Christians.
In a letter to the G-20 host, Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Francis lamented that "one-sided interests" had prevailed in
Syria, preventing a diplomatic end to the conflict and allowing the continued
"senseless massacre" of innocents.
"To the leaders present, to each and every one, I
make a heartfelt appeal for them to help find ways to overcome the conflicting
positions and to lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution,"
Francis wrote as the G-20 meeting got under way in St. Petersburg.
Francis has ratcheted up his call for peace in Syria
amid threatened U.S.-led military strikes following an Aug. 21 chemical weapons
attack near Damascus. But he has also been careful not to lay blame on any one
side, exhorting world leaders instead to focus on the plight of Syrian
civilians and the need to end the violence.
Francis will host a peace vigil in St. Peter's Square on
Saturday, a test of whether his immense popular appeal will translate into
popular support for his peace message. It's the first time any such peace rally
has been held at the Vatican, though Holy See officials have stressed it's a
religious event, not a political protest.
On Thursday, the Vatican summoned ambassadors accredited
to the Holy See to outline its position on Syria, with Foreign Minister
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti noting that the Aug. 21 attack had generated
"horror and concern" around the world.
"Confronted with similar acts one cannot remain
silent, and the Holy See hopes that the competent institutions make clear what
happened and that those responsible face justice," Mamberti told the 71
ambassadors gathered.
He didn't refer explicitly to the threat of military
strikes to punish the Syrian regime for the attack. But he said the main
priority must be to stop the violence which he said risked involving other
countries and creating "unforeseeable consequences in various parts of the
world."
The Vatican, he said, wants a return to dialogue and for
the country to not be split up along ethnic or religious lines.
Minorities, including Christians, must have their basic
rights guaranteed, including their right to profess their religion, he said.
And he called for the opposition to distance itself from extremists, isolate
them "and openly and clearly oppose terrorism" – a reference to the
al-Qaida-affiliated rebels fighting against the government.
The Assad family's four-decade iron rule over Syria long
has rested on support from the country's ethnic and religious minorities,
including Christians, Shiite Muslims and Kurds. As a result, the Catholic
Church has toed a careful line on Syria, staying largely silent at the start of
the civil war even after the regime's brutal crackdown on dissent.
As the violence raged, Pope Benedict XVI and later
Francis stepped up calls for dialogue. And amid the U.S. threat of military
intervention, officials in the region and at the Vatican have warned that any
outside military intervention will only exacerbate tensions, with Christians in
the region bearing the brunt of the fallout.
On Wednesday, the superior general of Francis' Jesuit
order, the Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, told a Catholic news agency that military
action by the U.S. and France would be an "abuse of power."
"I cannot understand who gave the United States or
France the right to act against a country in a way that will certainly increase
the suffering of the citizens of that country, who, by the way, have already
suffered beyond measure," he was quoted as saying in the interview, the
text of which was released by a Vatican-affiliated spokesman.
of Congress urging them not to resort to military
strikes. He cited bishops in the region as warning that any outside military
intervention would be counterproductive, particularly given the lack of
international consensus.
