"A stopped clock is right twice a day." Bergoglio got it right with the 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya. I can't say much for Blessed Carlo Acutis and definitely nothing for Servant of God Pedro Arrupe, SJ, but the 21 Coptic Christian men beheaded by ISIS terrorists on the beach at Sirte, Libya deserve to be known saints of the Coptic Church and, yes, of the Catholic Church as well.
It seems whenever there is a rebellion against a repressive government, the cheering from the hawks and the neo-cons begins. Obviously, rebellion is a good thing in their opinion and will bring in a new and friendly democratically-leaning government.
Well...maybe not. Salafi Muslim mobs have been attacking coptic Christians in Egypt and torching their churches since the overthrow of Mubarek. (See here...) Twelve Christians were killed recently and over 200 injured in attacks on four churches in Cairo. The Salafists follow the ultra-fundamentalist Wahabbi teachings that also influence Al Quaeda and they've unleashed their terror against the coptic Christians. Mubarek's security forces kept them in check. Now there is nothing to protect targeted Christians and, in fact, the police, for the most part, ignore the attacks and seem to be in cahoots with the mobs. According to FrontPage Magazine:
If the new regime in Egypt is not actively encouraging persecution of the Christian community, it’s certainly not doing anything to discourage such outrages either. The Coptic Bishop of Giza, Anba Theodosius, took the government to task for abandoning Egypt’s Christians. “These things are planned,” he said. “We have no law or security, we are in a jungle. We are in a state of chaos. One rumor burns the whole area. Everyday we have a catastrophe.”
After the U.S. invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein the same thing happened to Christians in that country who continue to flee the increasing persecution from Muslim extremists. Check out the aftrmath for Christians described in this video.
Saddam Hussein and Mubarek may have been bad guys, but sometimes the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know. What will happen to the Christians in Egypt? That they will flee the terror is inevitable. And does the U.S. which is so quick to intervene to "make the world safe for democracy" care a hoot over the annhilation of the Christians in the Middle East? Seems not. In fact, U.S. intervention is almost a guarantee for Christian persecution which is one more reason for Catholics to oppose our increasing involvement in every war abroad. We have no business being the world's policeman and there's pretty clear evidence that what we have become is the enabler of anti-Christian extremists in the Middle East.
I've been watching the uprising in Egypt with concern. I love living in a Constitutional Republic where the people, at least in theory, run the show through our elected representatives. Our form of government certainly isn't perfect and some are more equal than others (the inhabitants of Capitol Hill for example), and some are not equal at all (pre-born babies). But at least we can speak up and fight for what we believe without being sent to the gulag or dragged off in the middle of the night for interrogation by the secret police and possible assassination.
Well, the dictator Mubarak has resigned and the military is now in control and there is massive rejoicing. This morning, as I read the reports, however, I immediately thought of the parable of the swept house in Luke's gospel. The devil is expelled. He goes roaming around the world looking for new habitation only to come back with seven devils more evil than himself to reenter the "swept and tidy" house. The result, Luke tells us, is that "the last state of the man is worse than the first." (Luke 11: 25-26) Will this be Egypt's future?
