Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - "The situation has returned to calm, thanks to the authorities who are making considerable efforts to ensure everyone's safety," Fides was told by His Excellency Bishop Joannes Zakaria, the Coptic Catholic Bishop of Luxor, Diocese which contains the town of Nag Hammadi, where on January 7 six Christians and one Muslim guard were killed at the end of the Vigil Mass for Orthodox Christmas, as they exited the Church of the Virgin Mary (see Fides 8/1/2010).
"On January 11 I went to Nag Hammadi and visited the two Catholic parishes in Nag Hammadi and Farshout, to comfort the priests, nuns, and faithful of the Coptic Catholic community. We celebrated Mass for the souls of our victims and for peace in our country and in the world," said Bishop Zakaria. "I then met with His Excellency Bishop Kyrillos, Bishop of Nag Hammadi for the Coptic Orthodox, and with him, visited some of the families of the victims to present condolences on behalf of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. The two houses we visited, we prayed together, asking our Lord to grant us, and the whole world, the gift of peace and love. Once again, the families of the victims expressed their total forgiveness of their children's assassins. I wanted to go to the hospital to visit the 7 wounded who remained at Nag Hammadi, while two more severely injured were transported to Cairo to receive better care. Unfortunately I could not go to the hospital for safety reasons and the police advised me to postpone the visit for another day."
According to Bishop Zakaria, the Christians killed at Nag Hammadi were two small children, a young girl, a young man, a woman, and an elderly person. "The victims were Coptic Orthodox, but two of them have relatives among the Coptic Catholics. Actually, the Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholics often intermarry and it is typical to find Catholics in an Orthodox family and Orthodox in a Catholic family."
Bishop Zakaria would like to especially thank "all those who have phoned and given us strength and courage to continue to witness the Gospel of love and forgiveness in our land, which has been blessed with the presence of the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets, and with the flight of the Holy Family."
"On January 8, the day that the Coptic Church recalls the child martyrs of Bethlehem and commemorates the martyrdom of St. Stephen, all the Christians of Luxor - Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants - came together in the Orthodox cathedral to pray for the eternal repose of our martyrs and for condolence for their families," says the Bishop of Luxor. "I participated with a large number of Catholic priests, nuns, and faithful. I gave a meditation on the massacre of the innocent children of Bethlehem [Holy Innocents]. After the Birth of Jesus, the child along with Mary and Joseph found refuge and peace in Egypt, while in Bethlehem there was mourning and weeping. Today, it is our turn to sacrifice our lives for Jesus, and participate in the pain of the mothers of Bethlehem. Our ancestors, in the early Christian centuries, during the persecutions, offered their blood and their lives to Christ. Historical sources say they were numerous, so much so that the Copts are called "the sons of the martyrs," and the Coptic Church refers to its liturgical calendar as the Era of Martyrs, which begins with the first years of the empire of Diocletian, responsible for the deaths of many Christians in Egypt."
"Today, it's up to us to witness our faith in Gospel charity with forgiveness, and to offer our prayers for their sake, so we can rediscover the true path of peace,” concluded Bishop Zakaria. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 13/1/2010)
