Update from Syrian Catholics

It's hard for us in America to imagine, but the Arab Spring (which has been dragging on for a year in Syria) offers the Christians of that country less and less hope. Christian families seem to be targeted by radicals--a fact that only gives the government more credibility in dismissing any valid calls for reform.

The heat alone (from 108 to 130 F) is taking a toll. And then there are the kidnappings of those few men who manage to scramble outside to seek work in the city. Families are left without a breadwinner, trying to scrape up ransom while finding enough food to get through the day. Christian groups are organizing a peace movement, open to either "rebels" or "loyalists," as long as they surrender weapons.

Things in Damascus, according to an email that the Maronite Catholic archbishop managed to get out, are much worse than our media present. In part, of course, that is because journalists can hardly operate freely under civil war conditions! But if an archbishop can get the occasional email out, taking advantage of the intermittent electricity, surely a network or two can get a copy?