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Pope Francis on Wednesday called for prayers for 12 Orthodox nuns reportedly taken by Syrian rebels. Religious officials in the region have said the women were abducted, but a Syrian opposition activist said they were merely removed for their own safety.
The 12 nuns join two bishops and a priest who are already believed to be held by the rebels.
Speaking to a crowd gathered for his general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis invited “everyone to pray for the sisters of the Greek Orthodox monastery of Santa Takla in Maaloula, Syria, who were taken by force by armed men two days ago.”
“Let us continue to pray and to work together for peace,” he said.
His appeal came as fighting raged in several parts of Syria including the northern city of Aleppo, where rebels firing mortar rounds at government-held neighborhoods killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens more, said Rami Abdurrahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Sources
AP/Fox News
New York Daily News
Catholic Herald
Image: Reuters/New York Daily News
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