ALEPPO, Syria (Catholic Online) - A Reuters news report by Oliver Holmes and Alexander Dziadosz entitled Special Report: Syria's Islamists seize control as moderates dither is must reading for anyone who wants to know what is really happening in Syria as the current US Administration makes choices which may make the matter worse for Christians in that ancient biblical land.

The news out of Syria continues to shock the conscience of anyone who still has one. However, the solutions, at least from a geopolitical perspective, are not the ones being considered by the Obama Administration. There is no doubt that the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, the President of Syria, is committing atrocities against the Syrian people.  The allegations are that they have used chemical weapons against their own people.

However, much of the opposition is composed of Islamists who may be far worse than the regime. In the crosshairs of this escalating violence are the Christians. In April, Bishop Boulos Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church and Bishop John Ibrahim of the Assyrian Orthodox Church were kidnapped. They were traveling from the Turkish border to Aleppo, Syria. There has been a plague of kidnappings.

Among the strongest voices in the international outcry calling for the release of the Bishops is Pope Francis, a champion of peace who is also well aware of the dangers of militant, extremist versions of Islam. He referred to the kidnapping as "a dramatic confirmation of the tragic situation in which the Syrian population and its Christian community is living."

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