Yesterday, a report was released that documents new evidence of crimes against humanity by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria:

“…a huge cache of evidence smuggled out of the country showing the “systematic killing” of about 11,000 detainees, according to three eminent international lawyers…

Most of the victims were young men and many corpses were emaciated, bloodstained and bore signs of torture. Some had no eyes; others showed signs of strangulation or electrocution.”

This systematic torturing and killing of detainees is only the latest sign that Assad will do anything necessary to retain power. Yet Church leadership refuses to openly call for his ouster.

There is no peace without justice. There is no justice when a leader who orchestrates mass murder to retain his own power preserves authoritarian control. No settlement in Syria is likely to bring about the just peace that the Vatican and US Bishops are promoting, given the current distribution of power, but endorsing an outcome in which Assad retains power would mean an explicit rejection of the Church’s commitment to human rights and the most fundamental responsibilities governments have to their people. If regimes are provided support after engaging in mass murder and other crimes against humanity, the Church is turning the responsibility to protect on its head. Instead of deterring these actions against the common good and human dignity, this precedent would encourage such crimes in the future.

The pope, the US Bishops, and every bishop in the region have the responsibility to acknowledge that Assad has no legitimacy and must not be permitted to retain power. Only those not implicated in the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the regime should be viewed as legitimate partners in the quest for a negotiated settlement, participants in a transitional government, and candidates in subsequent elections.