After Assad, Syria’s Christians hope for ‘rebirth’ of country

By Joseph Tulloch and Roberto Cetera

Over the past few days, the world has looked on with shock as rebel forces took over huge swathes of Syria at lightning speed.

On Sunday, the militants announced their capture of Damascus, officially putting an end to 53 years of rule by the Assad family. 

The Assad regime was often portrayed as a defender of religious minorities, and one of the biggest questions about the rebel victory has therefore been what it means for Syria’s minority groups – Druze, Ismailis, Christians, Kurds and others. 

The duty of the international community

Asked why many Christians are celebrating the downfall of the regime, Fr Bajhat Karakach, a Franciscan friar who serves as Aleppo’s Latin-rite parish priest, told Vatican News that Christians, “like all Syrians”, had been “completely exhausted by living under the regime”, where there was “no development, no economic growth.”

“It’s not living, it’s surviving,” he stressed.

The Franciscan friar noted that the rebels had, over the past few years, shown increasing tolerance to Christians, including returning confiscated property. After they took Aleppo and moved south, he said, they had been sending “very strong messages of tolerance” to all minority groups, including Christians.

Fr Karakach also stressed the duty of the international community to “do its part to stabilise the country, and help Syrians develop a new constitution that respects all the rights of all.”

“This is our hope,” the Syrian Franciscan said, “but we’ll have to see how things turn out.”

Meeting with al-Jolani

Vatican News also spoke with Archbishop Hanna Jallouf, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo, who said he thanked God that the transfer of power had taken place without bloodshed.

The Archbishop said he had met with al-Jolani, the leader of the largest group of rebels, who had given him “assurances that Christians and their possessions will not be touched, and that [the militants] will meet all our legitimate requests.”

So far, Archbishop Jallouf said, the rebels had been true to their word, and had treated Christians with “great grace”.

Hope for a ‘definitive rebirth’

A slightly more optimistic note was struck by Father Firas Lutfi, the Latin-rite parish priest of Damascus, who described the fall of the regime as “a gift that comes to us on the feast day of Mary: the birth of the new Syria after 53 years of a dictatorial and bloodthirsty government.”

Fr Lufti stressed that Assad had left behind “more than half a million dead” and “an economy in ruins”, and stressed that the current moment was a time to “celebrate Syria’s rebirth”.

He also noted, however, that important questions needed to be asked about the future of the country, particularly given the wide variety of militant groups – including many foreign fighters – now holding power.

The priest expressed his hope that Syrians – together with the international community which, he said, “certainly helped the rebels to retake power” – would be able to bring the country to a “real and definitive rebirth, where democracy and human rights reign, and where Syrians from all religions, ethnicities and denominations are respected.”