As wars continue to shake the Middle East, the head of the Middle East Council of Churches says the church's humanitarian work in the region must put first the children who are bearing the heaviest burden — children traumatized by conflict, many of them left without parents. Michel Abs, the council's secretary general, made the appeal in an interview with Religion News Service this week.

The Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), headquartered in Beirut, was established in 1949 to assist Palestinian refugees displaced in the 1948 war, and advocacy for Palestinians remains at the heart of its work. Today the council brings together Christian leaders across Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern and Protestant families to advance dialogue, peace and humanitarian service across the region, according to the report.

Abs told the interviewer that the council's emergency response is active in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, and that doing humanitarian work in wartime demands transparent, accountable governance — clear oversight of church resources, credible administration of aid and the meaningful participation of the communities being served.

The priority, Abs said, must be the most vulnerable communities — \"especially children who are traumatized, afraid and sometimes left without parents.\" In Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank, he said, crisis assistance must address both protection and the daily realities of fear and insecurity. He also rejected discrimination against Christians and continued attacks on priests, nuns and holy sites, and said Christian villages such as Taybeh need protection from settler violence and harassment.

Asked about Israel's war in Lebanon, Abs described Israel's actions there as a \"barbaric aggression\" and said the people of Lebanon have the right to security, dignity and life. Religion News Service noted that the Embassy of Israel did not respond to a request for comment.

On orphaned children specifically, Abs said children without clear family support suffer greatly and face serious social and legal obstacles. He said the council is \"committed to a world without orphans,\" but noted that the Middle East's complex legal adoption realities — including the need for institutional documentation of religious affiliation — create obstacles. He warned that vigilance is essential: \"Human trafficking and abuse thrive when children lack protection.\"

The interview also touched on the steady emigration of Christians from the region, which Abs called a key challenge. He said housing and employment — more than words about dignity — are what sustain communities, alongside capable management, funding and effective implementation. He also pointed to low birth rates and smaller family size as threats to the long-term stability of Middle East Christian communities.

Abs further called for good governance and transparency in the region's churches, arguing that church leaders must manage responsibly what has been entrusted to them — especially finances, land and real estate — with auditing, follow-up and accountability rather than secrecy. In Lebanon, he said, church resources and unused properties go to waste when they could be used, for example, to build affordable housing, and he urged that church councils including lay members have real authority to review financial figures.

Whatever one's view of the politics involved, the call at the center of this interview deserves the attention of every Christian: children orphaned and traumatized by war need the protection of the church. The Bible leaves no ambiguity about where God's people are to stand — with the fatherless. \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress\" (James 1:27). In Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and across the region, the church must be found doing exactly that.