Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013 at 5:30 PM
St. Thomas More Church
1300 Junipero Serra Blvd. at Brotherhood and Thomas More Ways (click for map)
San Francisco
Featured speaker: Mother Agnes-Mariam from Syria
In May 2013, Gunmen attacked the vehicle of Mother
Agnes-Mariam of the Cross, the Mother Superior at the Monastery
and Convent of St. James the Mutilated in Qara,
Syria.
The
story that Mother Agnes tells about the events in Syria is very different from
what we hear and read in the North American press. She has spoken in Ireland and Australia, and
she organized an international delegation led by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead
Maguire to come to Syria to see for themselves.
And she is one of the main organizers of Mussalaha
("Reconciliation"), a popular movement in Syria that
mediates disputes and organizes ceasefires between opposing forces.
Mother Agnes Mariam
is a voice for Syria that we rarely if ever
hear.
She speaks neither for the government nor the rebels. Although she is a
passionate Christian cleric, she speaks for moderates of many faiths that do
not support the rebels but are also critical of the mistakes of the Assad
regime. She speaks for Syrians who advocate reform but not necessarily
abolishment of the existing system. She also speaks for Syrians who are
concerned for the fate of the many minorities and nonreligious members of
Syrian society that fear a takeover by religious extremists.
