Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Coptic Christians protest in Italy

Several hundred Coptic Christians and others gathered in Rome and Milan Sunday to demand religious freedom and protection following a New Year's church attack in Egypt that killed 21 worshippers.

Pope Benedict XVI expressed his "closeness" to the Coptic community during his Angelus prayer.

Some 500 people gathered in a downtown Rome piazza, some holding candles, some chanting. 

Many said they were demonstrating against religious violence not just in Egypt but across the world.

A 30-year-old Coptic Christian from Egypt, Basim George, said that "when I go back home, I don't want my children to fear going to church or walking in the streets."

In Milan, about 200 people gathered in front of one of the city's landmarks, the Duomo Cathedral, according to news reports.

In the Austrian capital of Vienna, meanwhile, hundreds crowded into a church to pray for those who lost their lives in the Jan. 1 suicide bombing.

Among those attending the commemorative mass was Austria's most senior Catholic official, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.

In a statement, Schoenborn called Copts a "precious presence" in a secularized society.

The somber celebration took place amid tight security. 

While police estimated that about 300 people participated, organizers said the number topped a thousand.

SIC: TN/INT'L