Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Lebanese and Syrian Christian Maronites pray for peace in Syria. (CNS photo/Hasan Shaaban, Reuters)

In Jordan’s capital city, Amman, prayers for peace were being offered by refugee Syrian Christians as talks between the warring sides in Syria’s civil war opened in the Swiss town of Montreux. Dubbed Geneva II, the talks aim for a transitional government, an end to the violence and the delivery of badly needed humanitarian aid. Expectations among displaced Syrians for a peaceful outcome in Geneva were low, however. “Of course, the Geneva II talks must happen. But how will the extremist groups threatening Christians and other Syrians inside the country be dealt with?” asked Abu Reda, a Syrian Catholic. Church officials and rights groups say that many Christians have tried to remain neutral in Syria’s conflict. But fighting continues to put pressure on the small Christian population, leading to fears that more Syrian Christians will join those who have already left the Middle East.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Francis greets Professor Joseph Stiglitz at the "Debt Crisis in the Global South" meeting at the Vatican in June 2024 (Vatican Media)
An interview on economics and Catholic social teaching with Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and a professor at Columbia University.
Kevin ClarkeApril 03, 2025
Lesson one: I had to buy more stamps.
Valerie SchultzApril 03, 2025
Celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea should give new energy to evangelization efforts, a new document from the International Theological Commission says.
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell walk us through the pontiff’s recovery, including “slight improvements” in his speech.
Inside the VaticanApril 03, 2025