"All Christians must stand united in the face of oppression and seek together the peace that only Christ can give". This is one of the salient sentences of a letter from Card. Walter Kasper to the Coptic Patriarch Shenouda III to express the Vatican’s closeness in the aftermath of the attacks on Coptic Christians of Naj Hammadi (Upper Egypt) at the end of vigil celebrations for the Orthodox Christmas.
Two cars, driven by 3 young men, fired volleys of gunfire, killing 6 people and a security guard of the Christian church.
Police said they have arrested the three murders, but the situation in Egypt is very tense and Christians are accusing the security services of negligence for failing to prevent the planned attack, after the many threats received by the bishop and the community.
In his letter, Card. Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, expresses "sadness" for "the tragic news of the death and wounding of several Coptic Christians" and claims to be "united in prayer with all the Coptic Church.
Praying for the dead and all the wounded, the cardinal writes: "Whenever our Christians suffer unjustly it is a wound to the Body of Christ in which all believers share. Together we share this sadness, and together we pray for healing, peace and justice. All Christians must stand united in the face of oppression and seek together the peace that only Christ can give".
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