Cardinal: pope stunned by anti-Christian violence

(January 07, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI is stunned by the wave of violence and intolerance toward Christians around the world, Italy's top churchman said on Thursday at an Epiphany Mass. “Together with the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, we are stunned in the face of religious intolerance and so much violence, and we are asking ourselves, in sorrow: why?” said Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of Italy's bishops conference in his homily at the Mass in Genoa. The feast of the Epiphany celebrates the visit by the three Wise Men from the East to Baby Jesus in Bethlehem, signifying Christ’s manifestation to the world, beyond the chosen people of Israel. Copts in Egypt, where a bomb outside a church on Jan. 1 killed 21 people, mark Christmas on Jan. 7. Other Orthodox Christians also celebrate Jesus' birth on Jan. 7, according to the Julian calendar.