VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis on Thursday introduced that 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians beheaded by Islamic State in Libya in 2015 are being acknowledged as martyrs by the Vatican.
He revealed the transfer throughout a gathering with Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church and mentioned he was doing so with Tawadros’ consent.
The 21 Copts, 20 Egyptians and a Ghanaian, had been lined up on Feb. 15, 2015 in orange jumpsuits on a seaside within the Libyan metropolis of Sirte, which Islamic State then managed. The Islamist group posted a video of the killings, exhibiting the lads praying as they died.
Francis informed Tawadros that the inscription of the lads in what is called the Roman Martyrology, or calendar of saints, was “a sign of the spiritual communion that unites our two Churches”.
Their ‘feast’ day – which celebrates their reminiscence – is anticipated to be Feb. 15.
Tawadros, 70, is on the Vatican to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the primary assembly between a Roman pope and a Coptic pope, which passed off between their respective predecessors, Paul VI and Shenouda III, in 1973.
Copts comprise about 10% of Egypt’s principally Muslim inhabitants and there are small Coptic Christian communities all through the Middle East and Africa. They have lengthy been attacked by Islamist militants who see them as heretics. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
