Sister Chittister Visits Syria
Road to Damascus still a place for conversions | National Catholic Reporter Conversation Cafe: “As we wound our way back from the Patriarch’s palace, through the narrow back lanes of the city, I realized that Paul of Tarsus had walked in this very area, too. ‘Not in this area,’ our translator said. ‘Paul walked here. Here. On this street. I will show you.’ And, all of a sudden, we emerged ‘on the street called ‘Straight’ talked about in Scripture.
The impact of the statement was far more than biblical. Damascus is the longest continuously populated city in human history. More than 7,000 years old, they tell us. We were on the very street that ties the early moments of Christianity with today’s struggles.
When the car stopped, we found ourselves in the front courtyard of a huge marble building. Fronted by narrow marble steps and great columned portico, it had all the marks of a standard Roman Catholic installation. Except that we were not in Rome. We were in a convent in Damascus run by a feisty old nun, Regina, a sister of St. Basil. It was a classic institution confronted by a very current situation.”
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