On September 3, in an address to members of the AVSI Foundation for the Open Hospitals Project in Syria, Pope Francis reflected on the devastation wrought by the Syrian civil war.

Recalling the “14 million internally displaced persons and refugees—that is more than half of the Syrian population prior to the conflict,” Pope Francis said that “in the face of such immense suffering, the Church is called to be a ‘field hospital’ and to heal wounds both physical and spiritual.”