Tripoli’s Roman Catholic bishop, Giovanni Martinelli along with other Christian leaders has called on the international community not to give arms to the Libyan rebels.
“The risk of providing weapons to rebels in Benghazi is a way of not ending the war, [but] rather a way to lengthening it.”
“We hope that in our small way we can grow the seed of reconciliation which only the power of God can give.”
Martinelli called for an immediate cease-fire and urged the the parties to dialogue.
The bishop is also trying to keep the power struggle between Moamar Gadhafi and the anti-government rebels out of his church.
Associated Press however reports it’s getting harder.
Recently after Mass, several Muslim women, supporters of Gadhafi, followed the bishop into the vestry, tearfully demanding he contact the Vatican to get the pope to stop the NATO airstrikes, while some of his parishioners, those who remain in Tripoli, are using St Francis Church as a sanctuary.
The parishioners dread going into the streets because they are frequently stopped and harassed by Gadhafi’s security forces.
The war has hit Tripoli’s christian communities particularly hard.
Bishop Martinelli said attempts to dislodge Gadhafi by force will only make him more determined.
“He is Bedouin, he is very strong,” the bishop said, tapping his forehead to illustrate hard-headedness.
Martinelli said his flock of 100,000 in the greater Tripoli area has dwindled to about 5,000. The Greek Orthodox community has shrunk from around 1,000 to fewer than a dozen. The Union Church is down from 1,200 to 250 parishioners.
Some of those who stayed, especially Africans who lack proper papers, said they rarely leave their homes these days because Tripoli is full of checkpoints, part of the clampdown by Gadhafi’s forces to prevent anti-government protests.
Lucky John, 30, a Nigerian parishioner at St. Francis, said the forces often stop migrants and check their passports and the sim cards on their mobile phones.
John, who worked as a driver for a Turkish construction company until the uprising began on February 15, said many of his friends have left Libya. “I stay by the faith of the almighty God,” he said, speaking after Mass Friday. “Maybe this will be solved.”
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