A Dutch Jesuit priest who chose to stay in the beseiged city of Homs in Syria to care for its starving population has been shot dead. Fr Frans van der Lugt, a 75-year-old psychologist, had remained in the rebel-controlled Old City throughout a 600-day siege by government forces. He had been offered the chance to Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Homs’
UN fails: Priest warns starving Syrians could turn on each other
Friday, February 7th, 2014
A Jesuit priest trapped in the Syrian city of Homs is warning mental health problems might lead to a breakdown of social order. With the failure of United Nations-brokered peace talks in Geneva, Fr Frans Van der Lugt, told ‘The Telegraph’ that food has run out and starvation is beginning to cause people to lose their Read more
Pope: Holy Thursday collection to support Syrian refugees
Friday, March 30th, 2012
Pope Benedict has announced that the collection money from Holy Thursday evening Mass in the basilica of St John Lateran will be used for humanitarian aid in support of Syrian refugees. The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus Samir Nassar, labelled the Pope’s action is “a very generous gesture”. “It is a gesture of closeness and solidarity that has Read more