ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a church in Cairo that killed 24 Christians.
The terrorist group named the bomber as Abu Abdullah al-Masri, thought to be a nom de guerre. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the attack, whose victims were mainly women and children, was carried out by 22-year-old Mahmoud Shafiq Mohammed Mustafa.
The bomb detonated outside a chapel adjacent to St Mark’s Cathedral, seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church, while the faithful attended a Sunday Divine Liturgy.
Pope Francis phoned Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria to express his condolences.
“We are united in the blood of our martyrs,” the Holy Father told Pope Tawadros, according to a Vatican statement.
The Coptic leader thanked Pope Francis for his closeness at such a sad time and asked for his continued prayers for the Copts and for peace in Egypt, the statement said.
After reciting the Angelus on the day of the bombing, Pope Francis offered prayers for the “victims of savage terrorist attacks” in Egypt, which also wounded dozens, and in Istanbul, which killed 44 people, mainly police.
“The places are different, but the violence is the same,” Pope Francis said. In response to the “death and destruction”, there is only one response: “faith in God and unity in human and civil values”.
Egypt declared three days of mourning after the atrocity. President Sisi urged Muslims and Christians to join together “to emerge victorious in the war against terrorism, which is the battle of all Egyptians”.
Francis appeals to Assad in letter
Pope Francis has urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to do everything possible to end the war in his country, protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian agencies can deliver emergency aid to the people.Syria’s Sana news agency reported that Assad met Cardinal Mario Zenari, the papal nuncio to Syria, and that the cardinal delivered a letter from the Pope.
The news of the meeting came on the day that the Syrian military announced it had gained control of 99 per cent of the former opposition enclave in eastern Aleppo, signalling an impending end to the rebels’ four-year hold over parts of the city.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has urged those fighting in the city to do all they can to protect and spare civilian lives.
It said in a statement that thousands of people with no part in the violence “have literally nowhere safe to run”.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm “over reports of atrocities against a large number of civilians” in the city.
Last week the Vatican confirmed the news of Cardinal Zenari’s meeting, saying that Archbishop Zenari’s appointment as a cardinal was meant as “a particular sign of affection for the beloved Syrian people, so sorely tried in recent years”.
“In a letter sent through the new cardinal,” the Vatican statement continued, “Pope Francis expressed again his appeal to Assad and to the international community for an end to the to the violence” and for a “peaceful resolution of hostilities, condemning all forms of extremism and terrorism from whatever quarter they may come.”
The Pope also asked Mr Assad “to ensure that international humanitarian law is fully respected with regard to the protection of the civilians and access to humanitarian aid”.
Growing churches tend to be orthodox, study finds
A study of Protestant churches in Canada has found that growing churches tend to be more theologically orthodox, while shrinking ones are theologically liberal.The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Review of Religion Research, looked at 22 mainline Protestant churches in Canada. Nine of the churches were growing in attendance, while 13 were declining. The researchers found that when other factors were controlled for, “the theological conservatism of both attendees and clergy emerged as important factors in predicting church growth”.
In the growing churches, 93 per cent of clergy and 83 per cent of the congregation affirmed that Jesus rose from the dead, leaving an empty tomb. In the declining churches, only 56 per cent of clergy and 67 per cent of the congregation affirmed this.
In growing congregations, all the clergy said it was crucial to encourage non-Christians to convert. In declining ones, only half the clergy agreed.
The study found that in growing churches pastors were even more orthodox than their congregations. In declining ones, the pastors were even more liberal.
Revered cardinal dies aged 95
Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, known as the “cardinal of the people” and a leading voice against Brazil’s military dictatorship, has died aged 95.One of his most famous actions was facing down military police to retrieve the body of a union leader. The politician Luiz Eduardo Greenhalgh said: “Cardinal Arns looked at the bullet holes on body. He pointed his finger at the policemen and said ‘Look what you did.’ And all of the officers lowered their heads in shame.”
