Twenty churches have been destroyed, damaged or abandoned, and around a hundred "of our sons have been killed," the Patriarch Gregorios III of Antioch, All the East, Alexandria and Jerusalem for the Greek Melkite Catholic Church has said, speaking about the dire situation of Christians in the Middle East.
The patriarch has said that Christians in particular need solidarity in the face of the extreme persecution currently being witnessed in Arab countries.
"The current phase in Syria has transcended the issue of the limited assistance," he said, noting that media reports do not begin to illustrate the current situation of citizens in the country, especially Christians.
He added, "Many of our sons have been kidnapped, and we've paid great sums to return them. Around one hundred of our children have been killed; while over a thousand different Christian sects have been attacked."
He continued, "Twenty churches have been destroyed, damaged or abandoned. The believers of our Lord and priests have been evicted. The priests have not reached to their people or prayed liturgy for over a year."