{"id":44550,"date":"2013-05-14T00:00:09","date_gmt":"2013-05-14T07:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=44550"},"modified":"2014-12-29T23:14:57","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T06:14:57","slug":"francis-supports-coptic-pope-vs-islamic-thugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/05\/francis-supports-coptic-pope-vs-islamic-thugs.html","title":{"rendered":"Francis Supports Coptic Pope vs. Islamic Thugs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Subtle, but clear<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church on Friday, during an historic meeting with the Church\u2019s leader, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.<\/p>\n

Francis spoke of the strong bonds that exist between the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox church and paid tribute to Coptic martyrs and others who have \u201cborne witness to the Gospel from generation to generation, often in situations of great adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one member suffers, all suffer together, if one member is honored, all rejoice together,\u201d Pope Francis said, quoting St. Paul\u2019s first letter to the Corinthians. The Holy Father referred to \u201can ecumenism of suffering\u201d in which the sharing of daily trials \u201ccan become an effective instrument of unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

From that shared suffering, he added, \u201ccan blossom forth forgiveness and reconciliation, with God\u2019s help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s Christians, who have had to live with widespread discrimination for centuries, have faced increasing attacks from Islamist groups since the fall of the Mubarak regime in 2011 and the election of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2012.<\/p>\n

Last month, St. Mark\u2019s cathedral in Cairo \u2013 the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church \u2013 came under attack from an Islamist mob and security forces, leading to the deaths of two Christians. Bomb attacks, forced conversions of Christians, and other sectarian conflicts have also been on the rise.<\/p>\n

But statements on the political situation in Egypt were kept to a minimum at the meeting, reportedly in a bid to lessen tensions back home. The low-key approach was also said to be aimed at avoiding last year\u2019s controversy with Al Azhar university following Benedict XVI\u2019s condemnation of the 2011 New Year\u2019s Eve bomb attack on a church in Alexandria.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That last line is telling. When you condemn bullying Muslim thugs for blowing up innocent people, they throw temper tantrums when you name them as bullying Muslim thugs and beat up more innocent people. So Francis took a slightly different tack. There\u2019s no point in taking a vocal stand that other people have to pay for with their lives. So he gets the same message out (Egypt\u2019s Islamists are bullying, murderous Muslim thugs) but in a way less likely to give those bullying Muslim thugs a rationale for killing more innocents.<\/p>\n

50 years from now, we will be told that Francis was \u201csilent\u201d in the face of Islamic persecution and was \u201cIslam\u2019s Pope\u201d. Any stigma will do to beat a dogma.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Subtle, but clear: Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church on Friday, during an historic meeting with the Church\u2019s leader, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. Francis spoke of the strong bonds that exist between the Catholic and Coptic Orthodox church and paid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[374],"class_list":["post-44550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pope-francis"],"yoast_head":"\nFrancis Supports Coptic Pope vs. Islamic Thugs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Subtle, but clear: Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity with the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church on Friday, during an historic meeting with the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2013\/05\/francis-supports-coptic-pope-vs-islamic-thugs.html\" \/>\n<meta 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