Reflection on Syrian Civil War and Catholic Social Thought Principles

This essay reflects on the Syrian Civil War, considering it the worst humanitarian disaster since WWII, as Pope Francis stated. It examines how the conflict challenges the Common Good and other Catholic Social Thought (CST) principles, such as the Dignity of the Human Person, Subsidiarity, and Solidarity, both locally and globally. The author highlights the displacement of Syrians and the involvement of international powers. To address these challenges, the essay proposes three key solutions: the State protecting the dignity of the people, the international community prioritizing human rights over political interests, and governments focusing on justice and peace. The author emphasizes the importance of the preferential option for the poor and advocates for policies that ensure justice and mutual respect to achieve a more just society.

Running head: SYRIAN CIVIL WAR AND CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT
SYRIAN CIVIL WAR AND CATHOLIC SOCIAL THOUGHT
Name of the student
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Syrian Civil War challenging the Common Good
When I read about the ongoing Syrian Civil War, I completely agreed with the statement
made by Pope Francis who designated it as the “worst humanitarian disaster” after the Second
World War. The conflict continues to devastate lives and property even after eight years after it
began in 2011. World Vision reported that more than twelve million people in Syria are in need
of humanitarian assistance. It also reported that the country’s healthcare systems, hospitals,
schools, sanitation and water systems and other utilities have been completely damaged
(Worldvision.org, 2019). The head of the refugee agency of the United Nations expressed
concern over the issue and stated, “We are witnessing an extended failure of political action by
states to find a solution to this war and an increasing internationalization of the conflict”
(Ncronline.org, 2019).
As evident from the facts mentioned above, the principles of Common Good as well as
other principles of the Catholic Social Thought (CST) have been gravely breached in the war
both globally and locally. However, before I proceed towards explaining the way the principles
were challenged, I must first explain the principles clearly. According to my understanding of the
Common Good principle, every individual on earth deserves to have equal access to all the
resources and equal rights to life. The primary definition of the principle is as follows, “the sum
total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their
fulfillment more fully and more easily”. The principles of Dignity of the Human Person,
Subsidiarity and Solidarity also derive from the Common Good principle because all these talk
about upholding the freedom and dignity of every individual irrespective of caste, creed,
ethnicity, color of the skin and so on.

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Due to the conflict, thousands of Syrians had to evacuate their land and take refuge in
other countries including Australia. According to the Catholic teachings, migration is a challenge
for communities because it “profoundly impacts society” (Tomasi, 2017). Syrians migrated
heavily to Australia with 12,000 asylum seekers being granted visas in the country
(Thenation.com, 2019). As migrants, the people have had to adjust to the new life and the natives
have had to accept them with warmth and without prejudice. In such situations, the common
good was not completely realized. In the global context, the Syrian conflict affected not only the
people of Syria but also those who were involved in it such as the US, the UK, Russia and other
Arab countries.
Three ways to address the challenge
The Syrian Civil War that began officially on March 15, 2011 resulted in the killings of
thousands of innocent people (Bbc.com, 2019). The war also led to the end of the socio-
economic and cultural ties that “bound neighbors to their community” (Worldvision.org, 2019)..
Viewed from the perspective of the CST principles, the crisis in Syria could be understood as
violating the norms of humanity. The nine principles of CST are the common good, the dignity
of the human person, subsidiarity, solidarity, preferential option for the poor, universal purpose
of goods, stewardship of creation, promotion of peace and participation (Caritas.org.au, 2019).
Achieving the common good is the foundation of all these principles. As the principle of human
dignity explains, each individual’s dignity is recognized when she or he has easy access to water,
food, education, healthcare, employment and leisure. In Syria, the people did not have any access
to these facilities and even if they did, it was very difficult for them to access. The principle of
common good when seen from a global perspective means that humans do not exist to serve their

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State rather the State exists to serve the interests of the human beings. In Syria, the State has
failed completely to fulfill this requirement because it did not serve its people.
The first way to address the said challenge is to make sure that the State uses it power and
responsibilities bestowed upon it to protect the dignity of the people. As per the principle of the
dignity of the human person, each person is created in the image of God and hence, must be
respected and valued. This principle is the basis of the CST and further states no human must
have their freedom and dignity compromised at any cost, in any circumstance (Cheraghi,
Manookian & Nasrabadi, 2014). As an advocate of the local and global community, I would
suggest that the State should first make endeavors to provide complete rehabilitation to the
affected people. Secondly, I would suggest that the international community should keep aside
its profit motives and realize the teachings of the Catholic Church about safeguarding the rights
of the people. The Syrian War saw the involvement of big powers like Russia, the US and the
UK amongst others but all these countries did not engage in the war to protect the dignity of the
people but to further escalate tensions. The global leaders should take the responsibility to help
the refugees by providing them with all the facilities that uphold the human dignity.
I would further advocate for the treatment of the poor and the vulnerable group first. This
aligns with the principle of preferential option for the poor. As a responsible community, we
should come forward to help the needy and those in distress (McKinney, 2018). The Syrian crisis
has revealed that innumerable women and children have been affected due to the constant
bombings and attacks by the government forces. Those who were responsible for protecting the
rights of the poor took to violence and aggression to harm those very people. All those affected
in the Syria conflict belonged to the poor and the middle class and they are still being affected.
The preferential option for the poor is visible when the government takes decisions that consider

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the needs of the poor. Owing to the crisis at home, Syrian people in huge numbers had to migrate
to other countries and live in refugee camps with the least facilities. So I would advocate for the
governments to prefer the poor people first while making decisions for the nations and the
people.
Lastly, I would advocate for a change in the policies of the international governments in
that the governments should focus on giving justice to all rather than using violence, which is
against a just community and society. The principle of the promotion of peace requires that
people respect the human life that involves safeguarding the dignity, goods and freedom. Peace
comes from justice and depends upon the correct order amongst human beings (Asaf, 2017). The
Syrian people have been devoid of justice and fairness because they did not have any chance to
safeguard themselves. Peace could not be established when there is prominent breach of law,
ethics and morality. It could also not be promoted when there is unprecedented violation of
human dignity. I would therefore advocate for a situation where the international and local
governments demonstrate mutual respect for each other and establish a relationship of
collaboration and peace. In this way only, the challenge could be addressed in an effective way.

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References:
. The Preferential Option for the Poor and Catholic Schools. In Researching Catholic Education
(pp. 95-112). Springer, Singapore.
Asaf, Y. (2017). Syrian women and the refugee crisis: surviving the conflict, building peace, and
taking new gender roles. Social Sciences, 6(3), 110.
Bbc.com. (2019). Syria: The story of the conflict. Retrieved 26 August 2019, from
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868
Caritas.org.au. (2019). Catholic Social Teaching | Our Values | Caritas Australia. Retrieved 26
August 2019, from https://www.caritas.org.au/about/catholic-social-teaching-values
Cheraghi, M. A., Manookian, A., & Nasrabadi, A. N. (2014). Human dignity in religion-
embedded cross-cultural nursing. Nursing ethics, 21(8), 916-928.
Ncronline.org. (2019). U.N. officials, church leaders decry escalating situation in Syria.
Retrieved 26 August 2019, from https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/un-
officialschurch-leaders-decry-escalating-situation-syria
Thenation.com. (2019). Australia’s Brutal Refugee Policy Is Inspiring the Far Right in the EU
and Beyond. Retrieved 26 August 2019, from
https://www.thenation.com/article/australias-brutal-refugee-policy-inspiring-far-right-eu-
beyond/
Tomasi, S. M. (2017). Migration as Challenge to the Catholic Church. Journal of Catholic Social
Thought, 14(1), 29-41.

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Worldvision.org. (2019). Syrian refugee crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help | World Vision.
Retrieved 26 August 2019, from
https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syrian-refugee-crisis-facts