Paul Keenan
Egyptian President hails Coptic community
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al Sisi has lauded his nation’s Coptic Christian community. Amid a rising incidence of attacks on Copts across Egypt, President al Sisi received a delegation of Coptic prelates led by Patriarch Tawadros II and hailed their “wisdom and spirit of patriotism” despite all they have suffered and continue to endure.
Stressing the strong links between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, the president acknowledged the persecution endured by the community and paid tribute to its resilience against those trying “to exploit religion as a means of fomenting division and spreading extremist ideas”.
Harried on two borders by elements of so-called Islamic State, President al Sisi is keenly aware of moves within Egypt to destabilise his rule in favour of another wing of the caliphate that ISIS seeks to create across the Arab world. Much of the extremists’ strategy has seen the Coptic Church vilified as a Western faith to be driven from Egypt, and has led to numerous attacks over recent months on Coptic properties and members.
Leading Chineseprelate dies
One of China’s leading underground prelates has died. Bishop Vincent Huang Shoucheng of Mindong, 93, had spent 35 years in prison, forced labour or under house arrest for his loyalty to Rome.
Having endured his punishments, Bishop Shoucheng led a diocese that lays claim to one of the biggest single populations of Catholics in China. Of 90,000 Catholics in Mindong, 80,000 are of the underground Church. Voices within the remainder even lamented the prelate’s passing, such was his popularity.
One anonymous underground priest told AsiaNews: “Thanks to him, the Church of Mindong was able to grow and renew itself. His suffering bore fruit for evangelisation. Over the years, hundreds of communities and parishes were created and developed.”
Syrian Bishops sounds warning on rebel group
The Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo has warned that moves by one radical rebel grouping to leave the al Qaeda network and change its name is purely “a tactical move” and will not alter its behaviour in the Syrian conflict.
Last week the head of the Islamic fundamentalist Jabhat al-Nusra group announced that it has officially severed ties with al Qaeda and will change its name to Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham (Front for the Conquest of the East).
However, Bishop Antoine Audo of Aleppo said the move “changes absolutely nothing at the level of reality. They remain the same, members of the same jihadist Sunni extremism. The change of name is purely tactical. A deceptive game to try to present themselves as representatives of that imaginary ‘moderate Syrian opposition’ which certain powers appear to need to continue to pursue their own plans for Syria.”
Observers of the Syrian conflict concur with Bishop Audo’s assessment, seeing in the name change and distancing from al Qaeda as something of a PR move while still allowing for the group to realise its goal of creating a sharia-driven state in Syria under the guise of being a moderate rebel grouping.