TIRANA -  “What is war?”, Dyonisius Jean Kawak, Syrian Orthodox archbishop, asked while speaking at the international conference “Peace is always possible” organized in Tirana by the Community of Sant’Egidio.

“Is peace just the absence of war? Peace is the fruit of justice”, he answered.

In a country pounded by a five-year long conflict, the fundamental task is to “educate about peace” because “making peace is a job to do on a daily basis”.  The Orthodox archbishop then complained that “Christians are too timid in the face the war”.

“We must pray harder for peace”, he said.

Concluding his remarks, Kawak proposed some concrete steps for achieving peace: “We need the help of the international community to put a stop to direct and indirect financing of the extremists as well as the influx of weapons and combatants”.