A number of Coptic activists have started a campaign on social networking sites titled, “No to inviting the killers to the Cathedral”. The campaign was launched in order to demand that the Church reconsider inviting President Muḥammad Mursī, Prime Minister Hishām Qandīl, and speaker of the Shūrā Council, Dr. Aḥmad Fahmī, to attend Easter Mass at the Saint Mark Cathedral in al-ʿAbbāsīyyah on Saturday, May 4. Out of respect for their martyrs, activists have also asked the Pope to cancel the Easter celebrations and limit the ceremony to prayer only.
According to Archpriest Sergius Sergius, deputy of the patriarchate for adminstrative affairs, of the Saint Mark Cathedral, inviting the President to attend the Easter Mass is nothing new, but they have decided to not invite anyone from the presidency, ministries or the Shurā Council.
In another development, the Church has finished its arrangements for the Pope’s first trip outside of Egypt. The Pope will visit various churches in Italy and head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis I at the Vatican.
The Pope has also commissioned three new priests to join the Secretariat of Bishop Cyril [Kyrillos] of Milan, Italy.
Finally, in light of the latest security breeches to Egypt’s public security, the Ministry of Interior has offered the Church extra security measures during Easter mass in the vicinity of different churches. On Apr. 27, a delegation of Coptic representatives met Muḥammad Ibrāhīm, the Minister of Interior, at the Shurā Council to ask for extra protection for churches in the governorate of Banī Swayf after an attack against the Wastā Church as a result of the kidnapping of a Muslim girl. The security apparatus has informed the delegation that six people have been arrested for the attack on al-Wastā Church in Banī Swayf (Mustafā Rahūmah, al-Waṭan, Apr. 28, p. 4). Read original text in Arabic.
