Leham denies arming Christians in Syria

Gregory III Laham, the Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church has denied accusations that his church is arming anti-Assad Christians in Syria.  Laham explained that the rumors were false and the church "never contacted them [Christians] and never offered to arm them, whether in Damascus or outside.” He added “we consider any attempt to arm any group as harmful to sectarian strife.  We would not want to expose the Christian community to anonymous infringements.” Laham asked all Christians to refuse any offer to be armed, hoping that their role would be more conciliatory, and that they would be the bridge builders between the people in the multi-faith nation. He said: “We have called, and still call, on Christians to be role models of peace and reconciliation.  We have been calling for this since the beginning of the crisis last year.  This has been the church’s role, it’s sponsors, patriarchs and bishops, priests and monks, nuns and workers because the church is a school of peace, faith, virtue, love, true citizenship and respect for all.” He asked God to “restore the love in all Syrian hearts" and said "they don’t need weapons, or fighting or violence.  They need to live as one family in one nation and to give Syria security and peace.”