'Slaughter of innocents' in suicide bombing at Syrian church called 'unspeakable evil'

(OSV News) -- An Islamist suicide bombing at a packed Damascus church that killed at least 20 and injured dozens of worshippers June 22 has sparked international outrage. Sectarian violence continues to plague Syria's new leadership seven months after toppling Bashar Assad's regime.

A jihadist entered St. Elias Greek Orthodox Church in the Dweil'a district of Damascus during a Sunday Divine Liturgy when he opened fire on parishioners and then detonated his explosive vest. Local media reported that children were among the casualties. Destroyed church pews were covered in debris and blood.

"People were praying safely under the eyes of God," said Father Fadi Ghattas. "There were 350 people praying at the church." Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the assault, calling it a terrorist attack, for which the government has accused the Islamic State, but no claim for the bombing has so far been made.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem condemned the attack June 23.

"It is with profound shock and deep revulsion that we received the tragic news of the suicide bombing at St. Elias Church," church leaders in Jerusalem said in a statement issued by the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land.

"There is no justification -- religious, moral, or rational -- for the slaughter of innocents, least of all in a sacred space. Such violence under the guise of faith is a grave perversion of all that is holy. This is an act of unspeakable evil -- a crime against humanity and a sin before God," the statement said, adding: "This attack is also a direct assault on the right to worship in peace and safety."

This "barbaric act," as Holy Land church leaders called it -- and other incidents continue to badly shake Syria's historic Christian and other minority communities who have been victims of sectarian violence in recent months as the de facto Islamist government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa struggles to exert authority over the country.

Observers describe the attack as the first of its kind in years amid concerns about extremist sleeper cells in the aftermath of the 13-year civil war. However, analysts also criticize the make-up of the new government's defense ministry and security services containing Syrian and foreign jihadists in key roles.

Catholic leaders and religious freedom advocates express concern for Christians in Syria as they point to a climate of worry and emigration and a lack of inclusion in the new political structure while attacks on minorities take place.

Earlier in June, Syriac-Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs said Syria's diverse religious and ethnic groups feel vulnerable and without a voice. IS kidnapped and held him captive when he was a monk and priest before he escaped five months later in 2015. The Catholic prelate is a strong advocate for prayer and interreligious dialogue.

"The people of Syria live without dignity, and without trust in each other, in the government and in the international community. This has become a heavy weight," Archbishop Mourad told the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need June 2.

He said while the new government has made some conciliatory gestures to Christians and others, even some majority Sunni Muslims feel anxious about armed Islamist militias on the streets.

"For the Syrian people it is strange, it is foreign to them and to their traditions, they have never been confronted by such a rigid form of Islam, and there is a certain social discomfort," Archbishop Mourad said.

"Syria has always been a land of diversity, a place of encounter for Muslims, Christians, Druze, Kurds and others. But despite the government's efforts to distance itself from its Islamist roots, its control remains patchy. Salafists are still active in parts of the country," he explained.

In March, pro-government fighters carried out revenge killings on hundreds of Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam and members of Assad's religious community, in Syria's western coastal region.

Meanwhile in April and May, more than 100 Druze, another religious minority, were killed in clashes with Islamists in two Damascus suburbs and a southern governorate.

Years of economic sanctions and civil war have left many Syrians impoverished. Archbishop Mourad emphasized that the church continues to provide hope and humanitarian aid to Christians and other Syrians "to survive this time of hunger, thirst, and lack of everything."

He said the church must have a role in the new Syria. "We feel a responsibility for building a future for our country. We want to participate and share in it."

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, decried Syrian emigration due to conflict and violence in remarks to Aid to the Church in Need June 11.

"Many have had to abandon Syria, because nobody can live in a war, under bombardment. If the Middle East is emptied of Christians, Muslims will lose their moderation," he warned.

"States have to change their perspective. It's not about focusing on the number of Christians, but on the value that the presence of the Christians adds."

"This horrific attack in Damascus targeting worshippers during Sunday Mass, will only deepen doubts about the government's ability and commitment to protect religiously diverse communities and restore stability," Nadine Maenza, president of the Washington-based International Religious Freedom Secretariat, told OSV News.

"While many Christians and other religious and ethnic communities I've met with are hoping the new Syrian government will succeed, the continued sectarian violence in former regime-held areas is deeply troubling," Maenza said of her two recent visits to Syria in which she met Christian and other leaders.

"It may also give pause to those in northeast Syria, who have experienced greater safety and religious coexistence and now face new uncertainty about what the future might hold," she said of efforts by Kurds and Syriac Christians to foster inclusive governance and religious freedom.

"Building an inclusive government -- and integrating members of these diverse communities into local security structures, particularly as neighborhood police -- would go a long way toward restoring trust and offering real protection," Maenza added.

In its 2025 annual report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the U.S. Department of State add Syria to the Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom.

In their June 23 statement, the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land added: "We call upon the Syrian authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and freedom of Christians throughout the country, so that they may live in safety and contribute fully to the life of their homeland."