Aug 13, 2013

News about the disappearance of Father Paolo Dall'Oglio in Syria is two weeks old. The identity of his abductors, supporters of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is also old news. What is new though is that demonstrations against jihadists affiliated with al-Qaeda were held in the Syrian city of Raqqa to demand the release of the Italian Jesuit priest.

Father Paolo, who in the 1980s rebuilt the Syriac Catholic Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian north of Damascus, always called for interfaith dialogue in the land of Islam. But his messages soon came under threat, as a result of the civil war that ravages Syria, his adoptive home since the late 1970s, when he decided to resign from the Italian army and embark on a journey of contemplation eastward. The first thing he did was to take up residence high atop the mountain, to where he attracted volunteers from the surrounding countryside, as well as Muslim and Christian youth, who restored life to the mountain. The Monastery of Saint Moses, and Father Paolo’s hospitality and charitable association, thus gained fame throughout Syria.

Occasionally, the monastery would receive almost 50,000 visitors per year, the majority of whom were Muslim. It was also a safe haven for Christian and Muslim youth who dreamed of a free and democratic future. Then came the spring of 2011, when meetings were held at the monastery attended by multi-confessional young people who fasted and prayed for reconciliation. As the regime increasingly and violently repressed the demonstrators, Father Paolo came out to openly endorse the revolution, until he was forced to leave the country in June 2012.

He is the one who once said: “Our hearts and souls shiver at the barbaric assault that President Bashar al-Assad and his army have led on Syria, its landmarks, heritage and relics. Why do you grieve when shells hit the Umayyad Mosque? Where’s the problem? We have the old maps and plans; and we will rebuild and restore it once the regime falls. The most important thing is that the dictator leaves; the rest is easy.” But this “icon of the revolution”, who took part in all opposition activities that served the Syrian people during the crisis, suddenly became a foreigner and stranger to the Syrian regime. He was therefore expelled from the country because he “exceeded the boundaries of his church responsibilities.”

On July 26, Father Paolo went on a secret mission to Raqqa, north of Syria, to open dialogue between all relevant factions: Islamists, Kurds, extremists, moderates, militants and peaceniks. At the onset of his visit, a video spread through social networking sites showing the inhabitants of Raqqa enthusiastically welcoming and cheering his arrival. He then wrote on his personal Facebook page: “I feel happy for being in a liberated city, and for being so warmly welcomed. People here move about freely and in peace. I hope that that will be possible everywhere in Syria.”