Christians continue to suffer

In his address to members of the Roman Curia at the end of 2011, Pope Benedict said that

Christians are the most oppressed and tormented minority

in the Middle East.

On New Year's Day, over twenty of our Coptic Brothers and Sisters died as a result of a car bomb in Alexandria, Egypt. As Asia News reports:

The attack was carried out shortly after midnight on January 1, 2011, as mass was ending. The death toll is currently of 21 dead and 43 wounded. A possible connection with threats from Al Qaeda after the massacre of the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad.

This follows the recent massacre of Catholics in Baghdad.

In that same address, Pope Benedict also recalled with gratitude:

During the Synod (on the Church in the Middle East) we listened to wise words from the Counsellor of the Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon against acts of violence targeting Christians. He said: when Christians are wounded, we ourselves are wounded.

And he added:

The human being is one, and humanity is one. Whatever damage is done to another in any one place, ends up by damaging everyone.

Let us pray for peace between the different communities in Egypt and elsewhere.

Euronews report:


BBC Pictures
BBC: Alexandria church bomb: Egypt police on high alert
BBC: Egypt's Coptic Christians under attack
BBC: Christians clash with police over Egypt church bomb