Before the Pope began his weekly sermon, he gave his condolences to the congregation for the Maspiro Martyrs. “Those that protested peacefully without bearing arms”, he continued referring to those who were killed, “walked from Shubra to Maspiro in the open, without weapons, full of courage.”
The crowd responded loudly with chants saying “Raise your head up, you are Coptic”, a slogan that has become popular during Coptic protests.
He confirmed 24 dead and over 300 injured. “The scale of these casualties has never been seen to this extent before!”, the Pope said. “Autopsy showed two thirds of the martyrs died from bullet wounds and a third died by being run over by army vehicles”, after which many were angered in the crowd.
“These beloved sons of ours are loved by us and their blood is not cheap! For their love to God and for God’s love to them, He allowed them to go to heaven before us. They are looking down from above and are praying for us. We salute them with all the prayers of the clergy, monks and the congregation.”
The Pope concluded this segment by saying, “Rest assured that God has witnessed everything and God will do according to his divine good will.”
English description and quotes provided by Coptic World
