“They are trying to turn Christian feast days into days of mourning”

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AFRICA/EGYPT - “They are trying to turn Christian feast days into days of mourning” denounces Coptic Catholic Bishop of Luxor

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - "This attack on the day of Orthodox Christmas did not happen by chance: there is a clear plan to transform the Christian holidays into days of suffering," Fides was told by Archbishop Youhannes Zakaria, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Luxor, in Upper Egypt. "The proof is that even last Easter there was an attack on the Christian community in the village of Naghamadi. In the shooting, three young Christians lost their lives." 
Seven people were killed in the town of Nagaa Hamadi, in the province of Quena, about 65 kilometers from Luxor, on the night of the Orthodox Christmas, celebrated on 7 January, according to the Orthodox calendar. The faithful were coming out of the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary when, from a car, shots were fired by an automatic weapon. Six faithful and Muslim guard working at the church were killed. In addition to these victims, there were also nine wounded. 
The authorities say the attack may have occurred in revenge for violence committed in November of last year against a Muslim girl. However, this fact contrasts with the threats that Christians of Naga Hamadi had received in the days before the celebration of Christmas. The Bishop of Kirollos in the Diocese of Nag Hamadi, had received a message on his phone which said: "Now it's your turn." Because of these threats, he says he had been obliged to finish the Christmas Mass an hour earlier than usual. 
According to Archbishop Zakaria, behind the attack are hidden political motives: "There is a plan to promote political Islam on the part of certain powers. The first to pay are the Christians, who are victims of the fundamentalist violence. The climate has become tense. In the diocese we have a Catholic school that is open to everyone, Muslims included. Until now, we had not had any problems living together, but now we realize that something is changing, and not for the better. We regret everything that happens in the rest of the world, such as the Swiss referendum banning minarets, which here was not taken well. I ask that everyone pray for our communities," concluded the Bishop of Luxor. (L.M.) 

(Agenzia Fides 8/1/2010)

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