Copt Pope appeals for calm in Egypt

4/1/2011

Rania

Cairo, Jan 4 (PTI) Egypt”s Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, appealed for calm following the bombing of a church in Alexandria New Year”s eve that left 23 killed and scores injured.

In first interview since Christmas attacks Pope Shenouda asked Copts to remain calm.

The pope asked young Copts to remain calm since problems are solved through calmness and not emotions.

“I urge all sides to exercise self-restraint, be reasonable and think about the consequences of their actions,” he was quoted as saying by local TV reports.

The pope also accused elements with political affiliations of infiltrating through protests Copts organized after the attack, chanted improper slogans and turned the protests violent.

The pope asked the state to solve the Copts” problems to avoid the accumulation of bad feelings, adding that some measures must be taken to help calm people down.

In a subtle warning the pope said that officials would be pushing people to riot if they do not deal with what he called the Coptic file.

He went on to say that when people are faced with problems of poverty and hunger, they become an easy prey to anyone to use them to do anything.

The pope also denied there is some sort of confrontation between Muslims and Christians.

Pope Shenouda also noted that he will personally lead the Christmas celebrations on January 6 at Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.

Asked to send a message to the Copts living abroad, he said: “You and your mother church must have one policy”.

PTI RAG

Source: