“Peace is possible in Syria. Everyone has to recognise that there is no military solution for Syria, only a political one”. This is what Pope Francis said in a video message in support of the Caritas Internationalis Campaign entitled “Syria: peace is possible”, which begins today. “The international community – the Pontiff said – must therefore support peace talks towards the building of a national unity government”. Pope Francis then addressed “all the faithful and all those who work with Caritas to build a just society”, inviting them to ask “those who are involved in peace talks to take these agreements seriously and to commit to facilitating access to humanitarian aid”. According to a statement from Caritas, dealing with the humanitarian consequences of the five-year war in Syria is the largest relief operation undertaken by Caritas in the world. It is known that Caritas provides food, healthcare, staples, education, shelter, psychological support, protection and livelihoods in Syria and in refugee host countries. Last year alone, national Caritas organisations reached 1.3 million people. Furthermore, Caritas is urging its supporters around the world to put pressure on their governments to “ensure all sides of the conflict come together to find a peaceful solution; to support the millions of people affected by the war; and to give Syrians inside and outside the country dignity and hope”. “While the people suffer, an incredible amount of money is being spent on giving fighters weapons. Some of the countries providing these arms are also those talking of peace. How can one believe in those who caress you with the right hand while hitting you with the left?”, Pope Francis remarked. “Caritas is launching a new website – syria.caritas.org – to support the campaign, which includes specially commissioned artwork from Syrian artist Tammam Azzam, an animated film on war, an award winning photo series, and testimonies from Syrians who remained in Syria as well as from refugees living in neighbouring countries and beyond. Caritas Internationalis President, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who has met with Syrians in Lebanon and Greece, said: “these are not just numbers, these are human beings. We need to give them hope, dignity and peace. In the name of all the people affected by this conflict, we appeal to everyone” to “work for peace in Syria”.