The situation after the Coptic churches attack in Egypt on Palm Sunday and in view of the Pope’s visit scheduled for April 28 and 29
After the Palm Mass on Sunday celebrated in St. Peter’s Square, thanks to a last minute sheet slipped in his by the master of ceremonies, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Egypt. “To my dear brother, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, to the Coptic Church and to all the dear Egyptian nation I express my deep condolences – Bergoglio continued - I pray for the dead and the injured, and I am close in spirit to the family members [of the deceased and injured] and to the entire community.” May the Lord convert the hearts of the people who are sowing terror, violence and death and also the hearts of those who make and traffic weapons.”
In less than three weeks, on April 28, Francis will be in Cairo for a two-day trip: an ecumenical visit to the Coptic brothers, who among Christians have paid a high toll in recent years. A visit charged with meaning for the interreligious dialogue as the Pope will visit the Gran Imam, Ahmad al-Tayyib, at the Sunni university of Al-Azhar, and greet about a thousand participants at the international Conference on Peace. Yesterday’s attacks cast new shadows on the papal mission. However, the Vatican noted that the journey is not considered particularly challenging from a security point of view: most of the Pope’s meetings will take place in institutional and super-controlled locations. Also the mass that Pope Francis will celebrate on April 29 in a closed stadium of Cairo, with about 30 thousand faithful, will have a high security guaranteed.
Coptic Christians belong to an ancient and numerically large church, able to have its voice heard and demand respect for their rights. They have been targeted by the fundamentalists for having supported, along with the Muslims of Al Azhar, President al-Sisi, who is committed to their defense. Francis’s 2-day trip will therefore be on “blood ecumenism”, due to today’s ongoing persecution of Christians of various denominations. The Pope of Rome will present himself more as a brother of the Coptic Pope Tawadros II, and a friend to Islam that condemns violence, rather than a Western leaders coming to invoke protection for the Christian minority.
