DAMASCUS, Syria (CWN) — The leader of the Melkite Catholic Church has told the AsiaNews service that an American-led assault on Syria would be “a criminal act, which will only reap more victims”.

Patriarch Gregory III Laham, speaking from Damascus, said that the US and other Western nations have done nothing to stop an influx of “Islamic extremists from all over the world are pouring into Syria with the sole intent to kill”. Today the country desperately needs stability, he said, and “an armed attack against the government really has no sense at all”.

The Melkite Patriarch strongly supported the call by Pope Francis for peaceful dialogue and an end to the civil war in Syria. He said that he had sent the Pope’s plea for peace to all the Melkite parishes in Syria.

Patriarch Gregory voiced his concern that if Islamic militants come to power, Syria’s Christians will be under heavier pressure to leave the country. Without a Christian presence to ease conflicts between Muslims, he added, there would be no realistic hope for democracy in Syria.