Coptic Catholic Patriarch calls for objective, impartial reporting on Egypt’s crisis
(Vatican Radio) With the increase of violent protests in Egypt, sparked by the removal
of former president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, the Christian minority has become a major
target for attacks by the former president’s Muslim Brotherhood supporters. The
attacks against Christian communities have escalated in recent days, allegedly in
retaliation for last week’s mass killing of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood protestors
at the hands of the same military which removed Morsi from office. Scores of churches
and monasteries have been torched, looted, or destroyed by Morsi supporters. Meanwhile,
the death toll continues to rise from these attacks. In response to this, Coptic
Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak released a statement on Monday outlining the
current crisis in Egypt: “With pain, but also with hope, the Catholic Church in
Egypt is following what our country is experiencing: terrorist attacks, killings and
the burning of churches, schools and state institutions. Therefore, out of love for
our country and in solidarity with all lovers of Egypt, Christians and Muslims, we
are trying to do our best to communicate with friendly organizations around the world
to clarify for them the reality of events taking place in our country.” Among other
points, he expressed appreciation for “sincere nations to understand the nature of
events while flatly rejecting any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of
Egypt or to influence its sovereign decisions, whatever the direction might be.” Finally,
he offered “condolences to all families and relatives of the victims. We ask the Lord
to heal all the injured.” Speaking with Vatican Radio, President of the U.S. Copts
Association Michael Meunier gave some context to the situation in the country.
“Egypt is just beginning to get back on the path of peace and democracy,” he said.
“Under the Muslim Brotherhood rule, there was no peace or democracy for the majority
of Egyptians.” Contrary to some reports by the Western media, Meunier said, Morsi’s
government was not a democratically elected one. Rather, the Muslim Brotherhood party,
he said, was won through violations in the election process, and did not reflect the
majority of Egyptians. “What’s happening now in Egypt is not a fight between two
gladiators. It’s actually the Muslim Brotherhood deciding it’s either they rule Egypt
or they burn Egypt.” “What’s happening to Christians in Egypt,” he continued,
“is the price that we have to pay, and everybody else has to pay, for a long-term
freedom. I know everybody’s wondering and worrying about [whether] there will be any
freedom under the military rule, but what we know, and what we experienced in the
Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt for over a year, is that there was no freedom.” Listen
to the full interview by Susy Hodges with Michael Meunier:
Below
is the full text of the message by Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak:
With
pain, but also with hope, the Catholic Church in Egypt is following what our country
is experiencing: terrorist attacks, killings and the burning of churches, schools
and state institutions. Therefore, out of love for our country and in solidarity with
all lovers of Egypt, Christians and Muslims, we are trying to do our best to communicate
with friendly organizations around the world to clarify for them the reality of events
taking place in our country. We would like to express the following: Our
free, strong and conscious support for all state institutions, particularly the armed
forces and the police for all their efforts in protecting our homeland. Our
appreciation of sincere nations to understand the nature of events while flatly rejecting
any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Egypt or to influence its sovereign
decisions, whatever the direction might be. Our thanks to all Egyptian and
international media that report the news and events objectively and impartially while
condemning those media that promote lies and falsify the truth in order to mislead
world public opinion. Our thanks to our honorable Muslim compatriots who
have stood by our side, as far as they could, in defending our churches and our institutions. Lastly,
we address the international conscious and all national leaders that they understand
and believe that what is happening in Egypt now is not a political struggle between
different factions, but a war against terrorism. In conclusion, we express
our condolences to all families and relatives of the victims. We ask the Lord to heal
all the injured. +Ibrahim Isaac Patriarch of Alexandria for Coptic
Catholics President of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in
Egypt