"We are in a phase of extreme suffering. We hope that Western countries assume a right position before this tremendous crisis in Syria. The "right" position is to reject all forms of violence, stop the weapons, not to put one against the other, defending and protecting human rights."

"Needless to say the entire Catholic community here is praying for the Pope. Our Patriarch Gregory III Laham sent a letter to parishes encouraging people to pray for the Pope to comfort him at this time of trial. The Pope is our Shepherd and we Catholics in Syria are in communion with him in prayer"

"Perhaps the Lord chose me because I am one of the few who is respected by both sides. Perhaps I can help pacify the two sides. It is not a mission that is only mine, but a Franciscan mission."

"Christians need a certain "positive laicity". Where do they go to find it? Presently, our "lay flock" denies itself; it is a matter of their giving a legitimacy that the only ones with power to give it are the Ecclesiastics provided that it had been acquired by their statutes. We think that Christians who so desire should be authorized to adopt lay statute, without betraying the Dogmas or the teachings of the Churches, keeping in mind that one is not in a solely Christian land."

"If the Christians disappear, there will be many problems, both for their own country and for Europe."

"It is absolutely clear to everyone that the reasons for such a disastrous war as we have endured for seven years now have nothing to do with the demand for democracy or freedom. They have much more to do with a dirty game of world economics."

"We have to strengthen the faith of the people, anchor them in this country, encourage them to be witnesses of Christ, the salt of the earth and light of the world: we cannot allow our presence here to become insignificant. We have lived through a particularly painful period of history: we are living in extraordinary circumstances. Now we need to deal with them appropriately."

"Everyone sees very well what the goal is: to increase suffering in the population to fuel popular discontent and thus produce regime change. But this way of acting is criminal. Putting an entire people in distress at a time like this, where there is also the specter of the pandemic around the world, is inhuman. And the sign that to pursue your goals you are willing to do anything, even to sacrifice millions of people, poor people, families is a diabolical act."

"Our desire to stay is a "Mission" and not just because we were born here, or because we are obliged to stay here against our will. We Maronites have no place to bring us together other than this cathedral, and the decision to restore it was self-evident, just like a family who wanted to renovate our only house that brought us together."

"The logic of the sanctions is arguably to starve the people and reduce the political consensus for the authorities and thereby overthrow the government. But as a Pastor, I see that people suffer from poverty and it doesn't seem to me that discussions about democracy are a priority for them."

"The Christian presence in the East, even in Aleppo is thousands of years old, since the time of the Apostles; therefore, it is very important that it continues, because this also benefits the universal Church - not only the East."

"Lord, the Christians of Syria love you, and you know that, they have remained faithful to you despite all the suffering and the trials they have undergone for the sake of your love, come to their aid."

"I feel it is my duty to be faithful to the one who gave me what I have, of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ who has his Church beginning in this country."

"There needs to be a fair dialogue. The West can bring pressure so that the government agrees to find a way to peace and change some of its behavior."

"I pray the United States may come back to the best of what it used to be, a country of love and a country of respect for human beings, and at the same time that the Church in United States may take back its position as a leader in humanity."

"If arms continue to come into the country, the situation will get worse. It is not Syrians who are fighting Syrians – those involved in the fighting are non-Syrians. Instead of bringing arms into our country, bring peace. Arms are like a cancer – a foreign body that threatens to destroy us. I would say to President Obama, you always talk about peace… please leave us alone and put these ideas of peace into practice. You have your own idea of democracy and it is beautiful but it is not necessarily our idea of democracy; let us work out our own idea of democracy."

"The problem of so many media is that they don’t really grasp real picture of the situation. The Arab Spring has been depicted as this clear push for liberty and democracy—but the actual results in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, for example, are proving otherwise. In many respects, the West is poorly informed, including its churches, despite good intentions."

"We, the emigrants from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and – allow me to say it – Egypt, our country will always love you and stay close to our country and our origins. There are numerous men and women that can give the religious impulses and with scientific and economic generosity in the countries can be active, welcome us with open arms."

"We need prayers, prayers and more prayers. It is the only thing that can bring us unity in this country."

"Death! People seem to have completely forgotten it in the midst of their preoccupations with the affairs of life, feverishly running after their livelihood, or blindly embracing atheism, materialism, agnosticism, and many other frivolous absurdities. They have closed every window that might let in some light from another world or simply remind them that there is another world. In the year of the corona, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ reminds us, his followers, that death is not an ordinary matter, nor a natural conclusion for human life followed by nothing. Death is not a futility unworthy of attention and concern, but the archenemy of humankind. Fortunately, Our Lord’s Resurrection comes at the right moment to remind us that by his Resurrection, Christ has totally and completely crushed the power of death."