Human-monkey embryo 'deeply unethical,' says Catholic bioethicist
- Apr 17, 2021
In a new interview, Syrian President Bashar al Assad responded publicly to a letter he received from Pope Francis over the summer voicing concern about civilian casualties in the country’s ongoing civil war, saying the pope has an incomplete picture of the conflict influenced by the west.
The Catholicsbishops of England and Wales have welcomed the repatriation of British children orphaned in in Syria, after their parents had sought to support the Islamic State Group.
Despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly assuring U.S. Vice President Mike Pence that his forces would not persecute religious minorities in northeastern Syria, people on the ground say minorities are being targeted.
A new report says Christians are faring better in conflict-ravaged regions in the Middle East, but the precarious situation means the Church could vanish in places like Syria and Iraq if Islamist groups mounted another campaign in the region.
In mid-October, Turkey agreed to pause its fighting for 120 hours, expiring Oct. 22, for Syrian Kurdish and Syriac Christian forces to withdraw from a zone Turkey wants to control. However, with fighting still was occurring in several areas, and the uncertainty of what would happen, Syrian families were considering their options for survival.
Turkey’s long-threatened incursion into northeast Syria after the sudden pullout of U.S. military forces from the country in early October raises serious moral questions on the responsibility to protect civilians caught in the middle of a new conflict.
The Turkish invasion of northern Syria in the wake of President Donald Trump’s troop withdrawal from the region could put to the test Trump’s stated commitment to global freedom of worship for religious minorities.
When Hevrin Khalaf, a young Syrian politician and advocate on behalf of women and religious and ethnic minorities in Kurdistan, was murdered by a Turkish-backed fringe group on Saturday amid Turkey’s new offensive in Syria, her death sparked outcry from around the world.