Pope Francis Proposes a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Peace in Syria

Pope Francis called for a day of fasting and prayer this Saturday, September 7, 2013 at the wake of the recent events in Syria concerning the inhumane use of chemical weapons. The Pope condemned chemical warfare and renewed his call for negotiations with regard to the ongoing civil war in Syria.

Pope Francis openly invited everyone in the whole world to join in prayer for peace and harmony in Syria, particularly to pray for the casualties of the chemical attack and an end to Syria’s civil strife. It will be a day event of fasting and prayer. He asked not just Catholics but Christians of other denominations, as well as people of other faiths, and even non-believers to join.

A Vatican gathering

The Pope believes that words of peace can help end Syria’s civil war and not armed violence. The event on Saturday is going to be held at St. Peter’s Square at Vatican City in Rome where he will be joined by many Catholic faithful to invoke the gift of peace not only for Syria but also for other countries that are continually plagued by war and conflict. The prayer vigil is expected to last for five hours and is going to end at midnight on Saturday.

Unseen agent of disaster

Syria made it to the headlines recently when its citizens became victims of a gruesome chemical attack that affected thousands of adults and young children as well. Civilian casualties were brought in and out of hospitals for days. After the attack on August 21, 2013, videos and images were uploaded in the Internet depicting the harsh reality of the Syrian crisis. At least 281 deaths have been recorded from the attack.

When chemical agents are used, wounds are not visible in the human body and many of those admitted in the hospitals would perish without any clear diagnosis of their sickness. But neurologic symptoms are quite evident. Based on the videos, patients affected by the chemical attack suffered from seizures and deprivation of motor skills.

Investigations ongoing

Despite the wide use of social media to upload the videos featuring persons affected by the chemical attacks, it was initially hard to confirm and verify if actual chemical weapons were used. In order to ascertain the truthfulness of the allegations on the regime’s use of chemical weapons, a team of chemical weapons specialists from the United Nations were deployed in the city of Damascus.

The UN team cannot ascertain who actually used the chemical weapon. All they can do is to verify if it is indeed a chemical weapon. The Syrian regime is being suspected of using chemical agents on a massive scale against rebels with the intent to harm. A report from a French team of investigators suggests that the regime is capable of launching the attack and may do so again.

The team interviewed nurses, doctors as well as survivors four days after the attack. The team also gathered some blood and urine samples on affected districts to be used for testing. Results about all their findings are still awaiting final confirmations. After reliable information have been gathered and confirmations made the said findings would be presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Caption: Pope Francis