Tribulation Times
A bishop in Egypt has spoken out against the security services and warned of anarchy after attacks against two churches in his diocese left 12 people dead and 200 others injured. Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina of Guizeh (Giza) said the Egyptian police and army were ‘frightened’ and ‘slow’ to act as violence erupted on Saturday in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba. Speaking in an interview yesterday with Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Aziz (above) called for those responsible to be brought to justice, accusing fanatics of wanting civil war. “The police need to say clearly to those who have done this: ‘You cannot do this. It is not allowed.’ Without action from the police and the army, it will be chaos, complete anarchy,” he said told the Catholic charity for persecuted and suffering Christians. Following reports that it took several hours for the police to restore calm, Bishop Aziz said: “The army will not stand up against the people who do this sort of thing. They want to stay neutral. The police appear but very slowly. They are frightened. They have not been strong enough.” The Coptic Catholic bishop described how one of his faithful, 60-year-old Catholic grandfather Naashaat Rateeb, 60, had died in the violence. He paid tribute to Mr Rateeb’s faith and courage, describing him as ‘the right-hand man’ of the local Coptic Catholic priest. The churches coming under fire included Imbaba’s Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary. Acccording to witnesses, the violence began after 500 Selafist Muslim extremists amassed outside the nearby Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mina, where the fanatics alleged that Christian leaders were detaining a would-be convert from Christianity to Islam. The woman, an Orthodox priest’s wife, later appeared on television defending her Christian faith but the fanatics responded by saying they were also in search of another woman in similar circumstances. VATICAN RADIO: Religious clashes in Egypt leave at least 12 dead REVIEW: Christian Church Burnings Are Happening All Over The World And The U.S. Media Is Deadly Silent About It
FIDES: "Muslims must reject violence based on religion," says a missionary in Cairo
MORE FROM FIDES: THE NAMES OF PASTORAL WORKERS, PRIESTS, MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS AND LAY CATHOLICS KILLED DURING 2010
Once again this year, Fides publishes an annual document of all the pastoral workers who lost their lives in a violent manner over the course of the last 12 months. According to information in our possession, during 2010, 25 pastoral care workers were killed: one Bishop, 17 priests, one male religious, one religious sister, two seminarians and three lay people. Analysing the list for each continent, again this year the place most affected, with an extremely elevated number of deaths is AMERICA, bathed with the blood of 17 pastoral care workers: 12 priests, one male religious, one seminarian and three lay people. Following is ASIA, with one Bishop, four priests and one religious sister killed. The least affected was AFRICA, where one priest and one seminarian violently lost their lives. POPE BENEDICT XVI: "The Holy See continues to appeal for the recognition of the fundamental human right to religious freedom on the part of all states, and calls on them to respect, and if need be protect, religious minorities who, though bound by a different faith from the majority around them, aspire to live with their fellow citizens peacefully and to participate fully in the civil and political life of the nation, to the benefit of all."
Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 28- "On holy and blessed prayer"
20. One kind of joy occurs at the time of prayer for those living in a community, and another comes to those who pray in stillness. The one is perhaps somewhat elated, but the other is wholly filled with humility.Prayer request? Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com
This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.
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