'A shepherd does not abandon his flock': Franciscan friars refuse to leave land occupied by Jihadists

'For a shepherd all the sheep are important and he loves them all the same way.'

The Franciscan Friars of the Custody of the Holy Land refuse to leave Syria, despite the constant dangers looming from ISIS militants.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to Breitbart, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Prior of the community, asked his confreres whether they should remain in Syria, which is known for ISIS' persecution of Christians, or if they should move to the safety of a region outside Jihadi clutches.

When most of the responses returned, Father Pizzaballa announced: "almost all have clearly expressed the view that it is only right to remain in the villages, without consideration for the number of parishioners or the danger involved."

The Franciscans of the Custody "have never left the places and people that the Church has entrusted to it, even at risk of danger, Pizzaballa recalled, adding, "not a few of our martyrs, even in recent times, died in circumstances not too dissimilar from the current situation."

He continued, explaining that a shepherd would never abandon his sheep and doesn't ask which are "worth much or little, or if they are numerous or young. For a shepherd all the sheep are important and he loves them all the same way."

Of the hundreds of Christians remaining in Syria, none are allowed to celebrate their faith in any public instance, meaning no crosses on their churches, no statues, no processions and no music.

To Islamist militants, Christians are infidels who have lost their way from Allah, and therefore they must be treated with disdain and eradicated entirely.

Last year, ISIS warned, "there is nothing to give [Christians] but the sword."

Christians continue to live persecuted lives at the hands of ISIS, with some of the Franciscans among those who have been executed by the extremist group's hands.

Though the threat of death is a reality known all too well by the Franciscans, they are determined to stay where God led them.

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