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Bishop Rejects Muslim Participation as Copts Demonstrate in Rome
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"God wills that we resist evil. That we live with integrity. That we speak and act with civility and respect." This is what the Coptic Orthodox Church in Rome did when they demonstrated in front of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs in Rome this past Sunday. They resisted evil by their words and actions, and they did it with integrity, civility and respect.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
1/14/2011 (1 decade ago)
Published in Middle East
Keywords: Copts, Protest, March, Demonstration, Terrorism, Muslim, Islam, Christianity, Rome, Egypt, Michael Terheyden
P>KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - They had just finished celebrating Midnight Mass, and were filing out of the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Nag Hammadi in Upped, Egypt when Muslim gunmen opened fire. Reports of the incident state that nine people were murdered that night and eleven were wounded. That was on Christmas Eve 2009.
Almost one year later a bomb exploded outside Saints Church in Alexandria as people were filing out of church after the New Year's Eve Mass. Based on recent reports, twenty-three people were killed and about one hundred were wounded. This bombing has been called the worst terrorist attack in Egypt's recent history. Clearly, the situation has become worse.
In response to these brutal terrorist attacks and escalating persecution, a group of Copts held a demonstration on Sunday, January 9, 2011, in front of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs in Rome. The Basilica is dedicated to the Christian martyrs. Barnaba El Soryany, the Bishop of Rome's Coptic diocese, courageously and without regard to the petty politics of political correctness, rejected Muslim participation.
Apparently he had doubts about the Egyptian government's true motivations and wanted to avoid potential problems. In an interview with the Catholic News Agency, he said, "We love our Muslim brothers: We await a manifestation by them and if they invite us, we will take part." While we welcome all sincere expressions of solidarity between Muslims and Christians, it seems Bishop El Soryany is a realist who knows that rising fanaticism is a complex and sensitive issue that runs far and wide within Muslim society. This reality reared its ugly head on two occasions this week.
Egypt recalled its ambassador to the Holy See due to Pope Benedict's show of solidarity with the Copts and his reference to the increased attacks on Christians and the need for governments in the region "to adopt effective measures for the protection of religious minorities." A spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the Pope's remarks represent an "unacceptable interference" in the country's "internal affairs."
In another incident, a Muslim police officer on a Cairo-bound train killed a 71 year old Coptic man and wounded his wife and 4 others. It was reported that the gunman roamed the train looking for Christians, and he yelled "God is great" as he shot them. It was also reported that a few hundred Copts gathered at the hospital where the victims were taken "and clashed with police, who responded with tear gas."
Although Bishop Barnaba El Soryany said that Muslims and Christians have good relations in his diocese, limiting participation in Sunday's demonstration gave the Copts a unique opportunity to speak to the world. And their message was simple. The Coptic Bishop summed up their message in two brief sentences: ''We are here to ask for help for a second time. . . . We are again demonstrating to show our pain.''
The news agency Ansa Mediterranean (ANSAmed) provided an informative account of the demonstration. They reported that the police estimated more than a thousand Copts participated in the demonstration. The demonstrators included men, women and children. They placed coffins on the ground with flowers and red grave lights. They also prayed and sang songs. Some held signs requesting help from the international community. A young woman said, ''We don't want to be afraid any more. We want justice to be equal for all Egyptian citizens.''
Sunday's demonstration by the Coptic community in Rome reminds us that it is important we recognize evil for what it is and resist it. At a prayer service for the victims of the recent Arizona shooting, Bishop Gerald Kicanas confirmed this point, and he gave us a guide to follow. He said, "God wills that we resist evil. That we live with integrity. That we speak and act with civility and respect." This is what the Coptic Orthodox Church in Rome did by demonstrating. They resisted evil by their words and actions, and they did it with integrity, civility and respect.
However, we not only resist evil by our words and actions but also by our prayers. When I reflect on the persecution of the Coptic Orthodox Church and Christians throughout the world, including the discrimination of Christians in the secularized nations of the West, I recall the Canticle of Zechariah (Lk 1:68-79). In one sense, it is my prayer for all persecuted Christians and all persons who are denied the freedom to search for truth and meaning in their lives. Some of the verses from this beautiful Canticle are noted below.
"Through his holy prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. . . . This is the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. . . . In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace."
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Michael Terheyden was born into a Catholic family, but that is not why he is a Catholic. He is a Catholic because he believes that truth is real, that it is beautiful and good, and that the fullness of truth is in the Catholic Church. However, he knows that God's grace operating throughout his life is the main reason he is a Catholic. He is greatly blessed to share his faith and his life with his beautiful wife, Dorothy. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.
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