Persecution of Christians in Syria: the end of July marked the seventh year since Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio went missing. To date, no one has claimed responsibility for kidnapping him, but this has been a common practice of ISIS in Syria. We continue to pray that he is still alive and in good health, and that he will soon be released, as those who seized him are identified and arrested. His plight is an indication in microcosm of the precarious situation of Christians in the Middle East in their daily lives.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Syria, see here.
“Priest Missing in Syria for Seven Years,” International Christian Concern, August 2, 2020:
08/02/2020 Syria (International Christian Concern) – The end of July marks the seven-year anniversary of when Father Paolo Dall’Oglio went missing in Syria. The Jesuit priest had worked in Syria for 30 years prior to his kidnapping, and founded a monastic community just north of Damascus.
He disappeared on July 29, 2013 after journeying to Raqqa for what many believe was an attempt at mediation which (if successful) would have freed hostages. He was never heard from since. ISIS in Syria has a long track record of targeting Christian leaders, many of whom remain missing. Many mass graves have been discovered in Syria, but identifying the remains is challenging in large part because the conflict there is ongoing.
Officially, ISIS is declared militarily defeated. However, the militants remain active in the region….
