Archbishop Jean-Clément Jeanbart, Melkite Catholic archbishop of Aleppo, has said he would like to see Canada help Syrians to stay in Syria instead of accepting them as refugees. During a visit to Montreal he was asked what he thought about Canada welcoming 25,000 Syrian refugees in the past few months. He said: “We’re not happy when we see the Canadian government moving refugees and facilitating their integration. It hurts us. A lot.” Archbishop Jeanbart, a regular visitor to Canada, said he would rather see the Canadian government raising efforts to help Syrians “stay where they are, to have the bare necessities, but also to find peace. And to get it over with these rebels, these terrorists, and drive both sides to talk. To find a political solution.” The archbishop said he thought Canadians were not sufficiently aware of what was happening in Syria. “They pity the Syrians and the Christians. But do they really know about their problems? No, I don’t think so. Because if they did, they would have made efforts to end this war.” The archbishop said that Aleppo, home to only half of its pre-war population of 1.2 million, “is 8,000 years old. It gave civilisation to the world.” “We will reconstruct our country. We want to build and stay,” he said, pounding the arm of his chair. “We want it to be our country and stay in this country where Christianity was born, and give a testimony of Christ’s love and charity.” On Sunday Pope Francis expressed “deep sorrow” at the “spiral of violence” in Syria. He urged all parties to respect a ceasefire and seek peace.