WCC condemns attack on Christians in Egypt

Today, as the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches began its meeting in Uppsala, Sweden, we received news of another attack against our Coptic Christian sisters and brothers in Egypt. It is reported that gunmen killed at least 7 people and wounded 14 others in an attack on a bus driving towards a Coptic Christian monastery. We condemn this attack, and are holding the victims, their families, their communities and their church in prayer and solidarity. This attack in Egypt is yet another abhorrent example of the rising incidence of hate-crimes against people based on their religious identity. We denounce it in the strongest possible terms, and call for urgent political and social action – and theological reflection – in all contexts in which such crimes take place to counter the hate and intolerance on which they are based, and to promote respect for diversity, for human dignity and rights, and for freedom of religion or belief for all.