At the conclusion of the Sunday Angelus March 26 at the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled the February 6 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, where over 50,000 people were killed and urged people not to forget these populations struggling to recover from the catastrophic aftermath.

He specifically mentioned the Caritas collection taking place in parishes across Italy for the people of Syria and Turkey affected by the earthquake.

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But here in Syria, where St Paul found his faith, many churches stand empty, targets for bombardment and desecration.

Aleppo, where I have been bishop for 25 years, is devastated.

We have become accustomed to the daily dose of death and destruction, but living in such uncertainty and fear exhausts the body and the mind.

We hear the thunder of bombs and the rattle of gunfire, but we don't always know what is happening.

It's hard to describe how chaotic, terrifying and psychologically difficult it is when you have no idea what will happen next, or where the next rocket will fall.

Many Christians cope with the tension by being fatalistic: that whatever happens is God's will.

Until the war began, Syria was one of the last remaining strongholds for Christianity in the Middle East. We have 45 churches in Aleppo.

But now our faith is under mortal threat, in danger of being driven into extinction, the same pattern we have seen in neighbouring Iraq.

Most Christians who could afford to leave Aleppo have already fled for Lebanon, so as to find schools for their children.

Those who remain are mostly from poor families. Many can no longer put food on the table.

Last year, even amid intense fighting, you could see people in the streets running around endlessly trying to find bread in one of the shops. Continue reading.

Bishop Antoine Audo SJ is the Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo and president of Caritas Syria.

Source: The Telegraph

Image: Caritas