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PDF versionCatholic leader in Egypt says government 'doesn't give a damn'
by John L Allen Jr on Oct. 10, 2011
Egypt’s caretaker military government “doesn’t give a damn” about the suffering of the country’s Christian minority, according to a spokesperson for the Greek Melkite Catholic church in Egypt, who says local Christians are calling upon the administration of Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf to resign.
Fr. Rafic Greiche made the remarks Monday (Oct. 10) in an English-language interview with Vatican Radio.
Greiche said the violence that erupted yesterday in the Maspero section of Cairo, where Christians had gathered to protest a church burning in Aswan on Sept. 30, marks the most serious outbreak since the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak, but it’s hardly the first such episode.
“This is the third time after the revolution, in the space of nine months” that Christians have been targeted, Greiche said.
According to media reports, the violence in Cairo yesterday produced somewhere between 25 and 35 deaths and left hundreds more injured. Most of the fatalities apparently came after the Egyptian army opted to use force to suppress the protests.
Greiche said the army’s role marks a significant deterioration in the security situation for the Christian minority in Egypt, which is conventionally estimated at ten percent of the population.
“At the time of the old regime, of Mubarak, there were also churches being burned and so on,” he said, “but the security services always used to take care of us. Now, even the government does not give a damn about what is happening.”
Greiche outlined three demands that Egyptian Christians are presenting to the country’s interim authorities, ahead of national elections scheduled for late November.
“First of all, the government of [Prime Minister Essam Sharaf] has to leave,” he said.
In remarks to the Egyptian media, Sharaf reportedly blamed Sunday’s violence on “invisible hands” seeking to divide the country. Many Egyptian Christians see that as a deflection of responsibility, reminiscent of the Mubarak era when Muslim-Christian tensions were routinely blamed on outside agitators rather than the product of legitimate Christian grievances.
Grieche also pointed to two religious freedom demands.
“The second thing is that the law permitting the construction of churches and mosques has to be implemented. It was promised by this government four months ago, and it has not been done. The law has to be implemented at all levels,” he said.
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“Third, we are asking for another law, one against discrimination. In Egypt, there is discrimination between Muslims and Christians. We ask that such a law be implemented for at least ten years, until society gets used to not discriminating against one another.”
SUPPORT THE COPTS ......
SUPPORT THE COPTS ...... Thanks, John. Of course, we must demand that our political leaders do everything they can to support freedom of worship in Egypt, Iraq, China, the US (especially Mormons and Muslims), etc. But let us not let the Roman clique and their well financed apologists use this issue to divert attention from the Roman clique's and their 5,000 bishop puppets' continuing failure to protect effectively children from priest rape and to reach out to suffering abuse survivors.
John Allen--this is the wrong
John Allen--this is the wrong place to report Christians are being persecuted. People here don't care about oppression unless the people groups are homosexual, female and being persecuted by a diabolical hierarchy. I imagine this sort will find a way to rationalize all of this as right-wing nonsense.
John -- What a deep and rich
John -- What a deep and rich answer you gave to the St. Louis reporter's question about what the Catholic church does best and doesn't get credit for. Your words fill out G. K. Chesterton's great and pithy, albeit somewhat masculine, quote, "The Catholic church is a thick steak, a glass of red wine and a good cigar." You are so correct ... being Catholic is great fun!
By this and many other
By this and many other similar news items it seems the Catholic Church has begun it's assent towards calvary. These stories as well as the evils occurring within our church creating divisions lead me to think so. Let us pray.
Jerry I think you are the one
Jerry
I think you are the one diverting the attention from the issue. The issue
about the persecution of copts is a real one but it seems that each time that
someone points out something disagreeable about people of other faiths, people
refuse to see it as if they were the eternal victims of western oppresion and
catholic church. I am sick and tired of it, thats stupid and suicidal.
Now, all the discussions we are having are useless, nobody will move a finger for the copts and after having killed lots of them everybody will point the finger to the pope and say: where were you?
The Copts are the real
The Copts are the real descendants of the Pharaohs. No one can deny it. The Muslims themselves know it. The Muslims are invaders. If they do not like the Copts, no one is forcing them to stay in Egypt. They have been the Copts' guests a long time. If they are tired of it and are not happy anymore, why don't they leave? they are most welcome to leave.
The U.S "was" and still "is" the home of the American Indians. The American people have invaded America, but they respects the American Indians and treat them well.
Can the Muslims in Egypt learn something good from the American people? After all, the American people give the Muslim Egyptians 1.5 billion Dollars every year. Ask Hosni Mubarak. If the Muslims continue attacking the Copes, we Americans will stop the payments, PERIOD. We shall force Obama to sop being charitable to people who have no respect for human being other than their own people. They do not deserve our help..
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