Dublin, Ireland, Aug 24, 2018 / 12:10 pm
In a keynote address at the World Meeting of Families on Friday, Cardinal Mario Zenari outlined the atrocities lived by families in Syria and other conflict zones, who respond to immense suffering with peace and courage.
"How many families, how many women, how many children deserve recognition, an international award! But they are too many!" he said Aug. 24.
"Moreover, they are unknown people, too poor, they cannot speak, they are not dressed appropriately, they are not in possession of an identity card or passport." He continued: "Never will any of these people be invited to hold a conference."
Zenari, who has been apostolic nuncio in Syria since the end of 2008, began his address by playing a slideshow of photos showing the devastation of the past seven years of civil war in Syria.
The people caught in conflicts around the world, in places like Syria, Venezuela, South Sudan, Myanmar, and Yemen "are small, small fish," he said, and even "the tangles of the humanitarian corridor's net" are too large for them – they are "destined to remain at the bottom of the sea…"