Egypt's Coptic community in fear following attack outside church

(Vatican Radio) Egypt’s government and religious leaders have condemned an attack outside a Coptic church in Cairo on Sunday that killed four people including an 8 year old girl. It was the latest in a series of attacks targeting the country’s Coptic Christian minority following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in July. Michael Meunier is a Egyptian Copt and democracy activist and he told Susy Hodges that providing more armed guards to protect Christian churches is only part of the answer to prevent further attacks.

Listen to the full interview with Michael Meunier:

Michael Meunier says although more effective protection is needed for Egypt’s minority Coptic community, they would also like to see a more “vigorous” response by the nation’s security forces “to arrest the people who are perpetrating these acts of violence.” He says Christians are not just facing killings and the burning of their churches in Egypt but are also facing a wave of kidnappings for ransom to the extent that it’s become a “daily thing in the life of Christians here.”

When asked how Egypt’s Coptic Christians feel right now, Meunier says many Copts are fearful about their future. “People are frightened and scared and they are noticing that they are the only section of Egypt’s population that are paying the price for what the military did against the Muslim Brotherhood.”