Catholic, Orthodox leaders in Egypt say army is fighting terrorism
Cairo, 20 August 2013: Speaking on behalf of Catholics in Egypt, Coptic Catholic Patriarch
Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak said the violence and unrest in his country are "not a political
struggle between different factions, but a war against terrorism."
In an Aug.
18 statement, the patriarch said the country's Catholics strongly support "all state
institutions, particularly the armed forces and the police for all their efforts in
protecting our homeland."
The violence in Egypt began at dawn Aug. 14 when
the Egyptian military and police used bulldozers and tear gas to clear out camps of
people protesting the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in early July.
In
addition to the fighting at the camps, mobs began attacking Christian churches, schools
and convents, claiming the Christians supported Morsi's ouster. Yet there also
were reports of Muslims forming cordons around Christian churches to protect them
from the mobs and of Muslims offering shelter to their Christian neighbors.
Patriarch
Sedrak's statement thanked "our honorable Muslim compatriots who have stood by our
side, as far as they could, in defending our churches and our institutions."
The
leader of the country's Orthodox community, Coptic Pope Tawadros II, warned those
engaging in violence in Egypt that God would judge them for their actions and encouraged
the police, the army and "moderate" civilians to remain strong.
The destruction
of Christian churches, schools, convents and stores - "there is nothing humane about
these actions," Pope Tawadros said in a message Aug. 17. "These people have lost their
humanity."
"If an attack on a home or public institution is a crime, what about
an attack on a house of God?" the Coptic Orthodox leader asked. "God's punishment
is severe," he warned. "Before God you shall be judged according to the deeds your
hands have committed."
Still, he said, "even if the hand of evil is torching,
killing and destroying, I have full faith that the hand of God is stronger and mightier,
and it is the hand that rebuilds."
The day after the attacks began, Pope Tawadros
issued a statement supporting "Egyptian law enforcement, the armed forces, and all
of the institutions of the Egyptian people in its confrontation of the violent armed
organizations, dark terrorists, both internal and external," who were attacking government
offices as well as churches and "terrorizing our citizens, both Coptic and Muslim."
Christian
leaders repeatedly pointed out that the Muslim Brotherhood extremists represented
about 2 percent of Egypt's population. Source: CNS