Archbishop Dolan welcomes Obama’s remarks on Egypt’s Christians
October 18, 2011
Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York has praised President Barack Obama for expressing concern about the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt.
“Thank you for your recent expression of concern about new attacks on Christians in Egypt,” the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a letter. “We welcome your strong presidential statement calling for ‘restraint on all sides so that Egyptians can move forward together to forge a strong and united Egypt.’ We too mourn the loss of life and agree that ‘all people have the universal rights of peaceful protest and religious freedom.’”
“On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I thank you for your efforts in this significant area,” Archbishop Dolan added, “and I ask that the US government continue to urge and insist that the Egyptian government take immediate and effective steps to promote religious tolerance within Egyptian society and to protect the human rights of all minorities, especially Christians.”
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Further information:
- Archbishop Dolan Thanks President Obama for Efforts to Promote Religious Tolerance in Egypt (USCCB)
- Egypt: police open fire on Coptic Christian protestors; dozens slain (CWN, 10/10)
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Posted by: mgreen32234 -
Oct. 18, 2011 8:04 PM ET USA
Thanks for the Arab spring Mr. President. And for urging ”...restraint on all sides so that Egyptians can move forward together to forge a strong and united Egypt.” You know how unrestrained those Christians get when Humvees are mowing them down as they protest peacefully.
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Posted by: wsw33410 -
Oct. 18, 2011 7:35 PM ET USA
This is unbelievable how Archbishop Dolan could be misguided? Incredibly, Obama is not only equating the deaths of peaceful protestors and their killers, but he is suggesting that Egypt’s increasingly persecuted Christian minority should show as much “restraint” as their tormentors and refrain from vigorously objecting to the growing abuse. Obama’s statement does say that “the United States continues to believe that the rights of minorities – including Copts – must be respected.” But the moral equivalence given to the demonstrators and military signals that the White House is not yet serious about curtailing the anti-Christian violence and preempting additional brutal action by the military.
